The future of the library: From electric media to digital media

Abstract

"All the chapters of this book were co-authored by Marshall McLuhan and Robert K. Logan with the exception of 2015 Preface, Chapters 6 and 7 and Part 2 of Chapter 13, which were authored by Robert K. Logan in 2015. The original material co-authored by Marshall McLuhan and Robert K. Logan circa 1979 is presented unedited exactly as it was written then. However Robert K. Logan has inserted parenthetical remarks to this material to bring it up to date where necessary or to comment on the 1979 material from a 2015 perspective. These parenthetical remarks are encased in {curly brackets}." Originally written in the late 1970s, this book was untouched for more than 35 years. McLuhan passed away before it went to press, but Logan always intended to finish it. Even though much has changed in the three decades since work on the project was halted, many of the points that McLuhan and Logan made in the era of 'electric media' are highly cogent in the era of 'digital media.' Looking at the future of the library from the perspective of McLuhan's original vision, Logan has carefully updated the text to address the impact of the Internet and other digital technologies on the library. McLuhan prophetically foreshadowed the transformative effect that computing would have on 'mass library organization' saying it would become obsolescent. It is perhaps no coincidence that a key theme of the book is that libraries must strive to create context given today's hyper information overload. The authors believe this task can be achieved by putting together a compact library of books providing an overview of human culture and scholarship. --From publisher description. The library, the physical extension of man's memory (mother of the muses) : a study of media -- Alphabet, mother of invention -- The library : a figure in many different grounds -- Laws of the media (LOM) and the library -- Impact of electricity and modern technology on the library -- LOMs for post-McLuhan digital media -- Impact of digital technology on the library -- Book glut, information overload and pattern recognition -- The compact library and human scale -- The public library : past, present and future trends -- The library and education -- Future of the book -- Library futures : summing up.