If someday in the future anybody can get an electronic copy of any book from a library free of charge, why should anyone ever set foot in a bookstore again?
Predictor: Browning, John
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, John Browning takes a look at the future of libraries in a networked age. He writes:”If someday in the future anybody can get an electronic copy of any book from a library free of charge, why should anyone ever set foot in a bookstore again? But if the books on a library’s electronic shelves are not free, what is left of the distinction between library, printer and bookstore – and what is left of the library’s traditional raison d’etre: namely, making information available to those who cannot afford to buy it?”
Biography:John Browning served as executive editor of Wired UK, the English-language European edition of Wired, the magazine established to chronicle the digital revolution. Prior to Wired, Browning spent 12 years at The Economist, writing about business, technology and economics. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: Libraries/Databases
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Libraries Without Walls for Books Without Pages: Electronic Libraries and the Information Economy
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.01/libraries_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Stotler, Larry