The future of libraries
Last night, Polytechnic School celebrated its 100th Birthday by having Larry Mantle talk with Steven Sample and Jean-Lou Chameau about modern trends in education. As you know, Sample and Chameau are presidents of USC and Caltech, respectively.
Their conversation was informative and stimulating. We must equip our students to hold their own in the emerging international market for highly-skilled workers. Our colleges and universities are being seriously challenged by institutions all over the world. Beginning in elementary schools, we need to improve the education our children and young people receive. But we knew that.
At one point, in answer to a question, President Sample said something that I want to share with you. The question was, "With all the research material on the Internet, what is the future of libraries?"
His response was beautiful. I don't have the exact words he used, but he reassured me. He said that we need libraries because libraries bring people together. They nurture human contact. They remind us that the search for understanding is best done in the company of others, not in isolation. I suppose that there are wise monks somewhere who might disagree, but my experience has been that he's right. As Margaret Wheatley says, "You know something. I know something. And, together, we know something more."
Education and its product, wisdom, do require other people. And a good place to find those people is at the library.
Their conversation was informative and stimulating. We must equip our students to hold their own in the emerging international market for highly-skilled workers. Our colleges and universities are being seriously challenged by institutions all over the world. Beginning in elementary schools, we need to improve the education our children and young people receive. But we knew that.
At one point, in answer to a question, President Sample said something that I want to share with you. The question was, "With all the research material on the Internet, what is the future of libraries?"
His response was beautiful. I don't have the exact words he used, but he reassured me. He said that we need libraries because libraries bring people together. They nurture human contact. They remind us that the search for understanding is best done in the company of others, not in isolation. I suppose that there are wise monks somewhere who might disagree, but my experience has been that he's right. As Margaret Wheatley says, "You know something. I know something. And, together, we know something more."
Education and its product, wisdom, do require other people. And a good place to find those people is at the library.
Labels: About the Library
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