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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Back to the Library of the Future

UPDATE! So, some of you might remember my post from several months ago about a "Library of the Future" essay contest I helped to judge. In the post, I gave a few examples from some of the essays, in which kids discussed their views on the future of libraries - with relatively hilarious results.

Last week, a staff member of the councilman who sponsored the essay contest very belatedly-but-kindly emailed me an contest entry that didn't make the final cut, but that he thought I might want to read anyway. He was correct. The essay is kind of amazing.

With permission, I've included the entire essay here, omitting the kid's name and the name of his high school. I'm not going to analyze it or speculate on what it means for the actual future of libraries or make any of my usual cynical remarks. I just want you to read it and draw your own conclusions.

Okay, I'll make ONE cynical remark: with statements like "The library of the future will be a hellish place and should be abandoned," I hope this kid grows up to be an award-winning horror writer and not, for example, a library director. Alls I'm sayin'.

Enjoy!






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19 comments:

  1. KanawhaNovember 1, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Phew! I thought I was the only one who felt that way about poetry. ;)

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  2. AnonymousNovember 1, 2011 at 1:40 PM

    WOW.

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  3. looloolooweezNovember 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    Amazing. That kid just blew it out of the water.

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  4. MichelleNovember 1, 2011 at 2:11 PM

    Too bad this kid isn't legal, cause I'd totally marry him. <3

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  5. MarleahNovember 1, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    This is AWESOME. I want to read a novel about it!

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  6. JanaNovember 1, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    That is an awesome essay. How imaginative! There are a few characters I know that I would like to come out of the novels I read...

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  7. AnonymousNovember 1, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    Ahahaha, this is amazing! "You would never know when Gatsby is lurking behind the empty bookshelves with a kitchen knife, or Clarissa Dalloway chasing you in an armored tank." Love it!

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  8. nschvanNovember 1, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    I loved it! My only correction is that, of course, truth is stranger than fiction.

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  9. Patty BlountNovember 1, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    OMG, if I were an agent, I'd scoop him up and pitch the book as a series.

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  10. Michael PopekNovember 1, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Not bad.

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  11. Lady DragonessNovember 1, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    Quite an imagination that kid has...

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  12. HeidenkindNovember 1, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    This kid definitely has a job in the arts in their future. :)

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  13. bookwormNovember 1, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    Best high school essay ever. I do have to take exception with one of his observations, however. The poetry section is already the cruelest section of the library.

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  14. AnonymousNovember 1, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    hahaha! Ahh brings back memories of AP English and being assigned to read everything by Theodore Rothke for a year... The kid needs to read some Rex Libris or Jasper Fforde in preparation for this hellish library!

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  15. Rita MeadeNovember 7, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    Thanks for the comments, guys! I really hope this kid keeps writing (and using libraries. He'll come around).

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  16. Fröken RimmeNovember 8, 2011 at 5:46 AM

    Wow. Just recently found your blog and is absolutely loving it. As a Swedish soon-to-be librarian, I'm in equal measures thrilled and anxious to take the leap out into the "real world". You sure make the thought of it more entertaining, though!

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  17. Rita MeadeNovember 8, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    Thanks, Froken! Good luck to you! It ain't easy, but it's certainly interesting! (By the way, I've been to Sweden - beautiful country!)

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  18. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    Great, the kid will be a writter in years to come.If the poetry section is dark , we Librarians lets look for alternatives to make it a brighter place

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  19. {Scribbler} SkyeJanuary 6, 2014 at 1:18 PM

    Wow. Just wow. If this kid doesn't end up writing best-selling novels in the very near future, the world will suffer for the loss (libraries especially ;). Thanks for sharing this! While not the most pleasant outlook for libraries, it is definitely a fascinating one.

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