By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix: Shahiddan Saidi

BANGI, 13 June 2016 – Libraries as a warehouse of information will still be around for a long time to come yet, but they will be almost unrecognisable to people used to seeing it as a storehouse of books of today, says Chairman of Mahkota Foundation Tan Sri Datuk Dr Kamal Salih.

The Adjunct Professor of Economics and Development Studies at Universiti Malaya said he doesn’t think that libraries will ever become extinct, although there is currently a crisis in book-reading.

“The library of the future will not look like any library of today. It will look more  like a comfortable transport hub or airport lounge with large windows and no books will be seen,” he said in his lecture at the National University of Malaysia’s (UKM) Tun Seri Lanang Library (TSL) here on 19 May.

He said in this age of information explosion, the library seems to be outdated or old-fashioned to people who have fully embraced the digital age.

“In order to be relevant libraries must change and provide online access to everyone in an atmosphere reminiscent of a high-ceiling airport terminal,” he envisaged in his lecture which is the fifth in the series organised by TSL.

He predicted that the library of the future will have more than just books and workstations.

“The library of the 21st century still has books, but it also has 3-D printers, laser cutters, sewing machines, and spaces for conducting business meetings. It offers computer coding classes. It has advanced video and audio-production software. All things that might and individual may find too expensive but can still benefit from using, “ he elaborated.

He believes that the library as a warehouse of information is an outdated concept, and that in the 21st century it becomes a community workshop, a hub filled with the tools of the knowledge economy.

So, What, then, does the library of the future look like?

“Maybe not as different from today as it sounds. Today’s libraries are already community spaces with rooms full of books and machines. Many libraries have printers, copiers, computers, and microfiche terminals. But if the trend in the developed countries is toward relative booklessness, when and how do print volumes become searchable or downloadable only online?” he asked rhetorically.

He predicted that as tertiary education becomes less formal, the separation between learning centres and libraries will become blurred.

The university library, he surmised, should be at the heart of teaching and learning, working closely with the academic staff to help them deliver their objectives of supporting students to help achieve theirs.

Also present at the lecture were the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) Director  Distinguished Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin and TSL Head Librarian Hafsah Mohamad.