The Books are Gone
Posted by: Christine Bulson
An article in the Boston Globe today reported that a private school, Cushing Academy, has eliminated the books in the library. The collection of 20,000 books will be given away and will be replaced by a digital library. The “learning center” will have lap-top friendly carrels and where the reference desk was there will be a coffee shop with a $12,000 cappuccino machine. The headmaster was quoted as saying , “When I look at books, I see an outdated techonology, like scrolls before books.” The librarian who worked at Cushing for 17 years said “It makes me sad.” Is this the beginning of a trend?
Two additional interesting items: The article was the most e-mailed for the day and less than 12 hours after publication there were over 300 comments!
September 4th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
This school is very misguided. Their leaders have apparently chosen to negate or ignore the increasing volume of research in the field of student success,and reading scores linked to good old fashion reading. Are pleasant environments, comfortable furniture and computer access needed as well?…absolutely! Someone is throwing the baby out with the bathwater and the results will be tragic and embarassing.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Read the comments on the Boston Globe website. It will amaze you what some folks say.
September 11th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Yet another example of a hubris-fueled administrator who failed to consult experts in the field. Ask any school librarian, and he or she will tell you: Books matter! Yes, we all use computers, too. But for fiction, books are the format that work best in most situations. What a waste of time, money and effort. In just a few years, this library will need massive updating.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
[...] forum is Do School Libraries Need Books? This discussion was first sparked a few months ago when Cushing Academy announced that it was giving away all of its 20,000 books and going all-digital. Here on Points of Reference [...]