A library without books may once have been considered unthinkable. But the new public library on San Antonio’s south side has gone completely book-free. The issue is, will Dearborn, Michigan libraries ever take away books and put tablets and computers there instead. After surveying students, many think that having computers and tablets instead of books are a lot better because they prefer looking at screens instead of real pages.
Local residents in San Antonio can check out tablets or e-readers for free or, they can use the library’s 48 i Mac desktop computers. Children can take home any of the 200 Nook readers pre-loaded with 150 books appropriate for their age. In Washington, D.C., the downtown Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library cleared the shelves in one wing last June to open a vast, bookless area. The library is calling it “Digital Commons,” and it’s part computer lab, part design center and part reading lounge.
“Local libraries in Dearborn should get computers and tablets instead of books because you can’t lose any books on the computer compared to losing real life books and paying for it,” said Unis Middle School student Ahmed Almawri. Many believe he has a really good point. You can’t lose any books in computer compared to paying for a real book that you can lose. “Libraries in Dearborn shouldn’t get computers for books because books are better than staring at a screen and ruining your eyesight,” said Unis Middle School student Fatmeh Dabaja.
But something that gives computer books an advantage than regular books is that no late fees. In regular libraries people struggle with bringing their books to library and that is a problem that technology has solved again. “But if people can’t bring their books on time or keep them safe, that is their responsibility not the libraries,” said Unis Middle School student Layla Sabrah. That is a really good point that can really get you thinking. But this idea is not up to us its up to the Libraries in Dearborn.
After gathering all the information the tallies are up. From the locals I asked around the community, most of them said that local libraries in Dearborn should not put computers instead of books. This really surprised me because technology is really taking control of the world but it seems people in Dearborn are keeping it old fashioned.
Adnan Eidy
Unis Journalist
I personally don’t think that replacing books with computers and tablets is a good idea. It takes away traditional book reading experience. Everything nowadays is being replaced with modern technology, kids are speeding to much time on technology at home alone. Replacing books with tablets and computers isn’t healthy with all the screen time at home alone.
I think leaving the books instead of tablet it computer it’s a library not a computer lab. There are so Maney reason why you shouldn’t get computers
It was a great story, though i do prefer to have regular books I think the story had some good points, like late fees
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This was a really, really interesting topic and story. It really grabbed my attention quickly. It makes sense of using a computer/tablet for books. It would be really cool since I always get late fees on my books every time I return them because I forget the deadline. It would really make things simpler. Books have been around forever and even though I do like the idea of the computers it still wouldn’t feel right if there weren’t any books if you went to a library. I as well was surprised on how the community of Dearborn disagreed to this idea since technology has taken over the world, especially in the USA. Overall, I enjoyed reading this story!
I agree with both students, there are good sides and bad sides to this new plan. But I believe that books should stay in libraries because books don’t need to be charged and they won’t ruin your eyesight even more. It’s already bad enough our generation is filled with technology and everyday people get lazier and lazier because of that.
Most libraries are still using books instead of technology. I think that online books are a better help for me because there are more options.