Book Review Volume: Destination Library

By: Dorris de Heij

On: September 13, 2008

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About Dorris de Heij
I finished my Bachlor in Information science last year and am now a student at the New Media Master.

Website
http://www.dorrisnewmedia.blogspot.com

Book review Volume: Destination Library

This edition of Volume is all about the future of libraries. Guided by editors Rem Koolhaas, Mark Wigley and Arjen Oosterman the nice thing about this book-magazine is that the subject is adressed from so many different fields of interests. Librarians, scientists, researchers, teachers, the Googlebook director, they all have a say in this piece of work discussing what a library is now and what it will look like in a few years from now.

The first to speak is Gerald Beasley, a librarian, his opinion is vey pro library, keep this place, make a mixed economy of collections and services offered in physical and digital formats. The next article is written by Director of Marketing & Communications at Summer Search Nicola Twilley and architect Geoff Manaugh who write the library as a building might become like a museum but the things people do in labraries will continue as an activity online instead of a place. More people come to speak about the future of libraries and they all have interesting says about this, some say libraries will stay, some say they will change into a place where people will not only consume but also produce knowledge. Questions that come back in each of the articles from the different people are: Is the library become useless now every piece of information will be available digital? How would a library look if all media would come together? what will be the job of the librarian?

In between the articles written about these kind of questions examples of art and voluntary projects in relation to libraries have a place in the book. Some nice pictures of old and modern libraries make the book very nice to glance through the pages.

Editor Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect who owns a researchcentre that works on things like identity, culture and organisation. Ole Bouman studied architecture history and is the director of the Dutch Architecture Institute. Mark Wigley also is an architect, he was born in New Zealand. Wigley was awarded the Graham Foundation Grant in 1997.
In 2005, Wigley founded Volume Magazine together with Koolhaas and Bouman. A collaborative project by Archis (Amsterdam), AMO Rotterdam and C-lab (Columbia University NY), Volume Magazine is an experimental think tank focussing on the process of spatial and cultural reflexivity. The magazine aims to explore “beyond architecture’s definition of ‘making buildings'” by presenting global views on architecture and design, broader attitudes to social structures and created environments; and embodies progressive journalism.

This book is interesting for everybody wondering what the digital age will have in store for us in the relation to libraries, books and education. The book is easy to read, nice to watch and interesting also for laymen in the new media field.