Is the library the new public square?
Is the library the new public square? That question is a core interest of the MIT Task Force on the Future of Libraries, which is re-imagining what libraries can and should be in a digital era when people still need intellectual communities and gathering places. Preliminary findings blow the doors off of traditional concepts of libraries as enclosed spaces with physical objects under tight control. Now, the task force is seeking MIT community and alumni response by Feb. 15 before completing its report this spring. “The report serves as a set of recommendations for moving the MIT Libraries towards the vision of a research library as an open global platform,” says Chris Bourg, director of MIT Libraries and the task force co-chair. “And it is an invitation to like-minded libraries, publishers, scholars, and others to join us in creating a more open, more productive, and more equitable information future.” The new concept of libraries embraces a physical place plus services that provide access...