Will Libraries Survive the Digital Age? : Some Readers Are Making Book on It

* I am bothered by John Strahl’s letter (July 10), espousing, in effect, “virtual reality” over books-- and of your paper’s giving such position to it.

I wonder if he thinks a travelogue is preferable to walking the streets of Paris?

Years ago I learned that, when visiting a home, the owner’s library (if there is one), gives an accurate picture as to his or her inner person. But what will one see when a visit is made to Mr. Strahl’s home--a video screen?

I doubt if Abraham Lincoln would walk a mile to borrow a computer disk, let alone bother to return it.

Nothing will ever take the place of a good book, whether for reference or pleasure. There is a tactile quality, the ability to read and reread, one may put it down until another time, and there is simply the pleasure of owning, or using, these finest objects of man’s enlightenment.

I work with a computer hours daily. I appreciate it as a tool, but I will never see it replacing books, wonderful books, and I hope that civilization will never replace libraries of books with computers and digitized memories.

JACK CARPENTER

Laguna Niguel

* The letter (July 10) by John Strahl that all books in the future will be digitized (CD-ROM) eliminating the need for libraries is thought provoking and well written. Is it a half answer?

My publishing background began in 1956 when we self-published our first sailing book. It was a need to help others, with a comfortable profit for thousands of hours invested.

The American Booksellers national trade show was held in L.A. in May with publishers worldwide displaying in 4,800 booths. For the first time I realized almost all books are designed like islands unto themselves, as our marine educational books are in sail and power boating, to fulfill a need with their own unique messages. It was amazing, the number of authors from Southern California.

More creative minds involving ALL professions are found in a tiny band from Laguna, north to Santa Barbara, seldom more than 15 to 20 miles from the ocean, than anywhere else in the United States. They can find their answers from many sources in our creative Orange County environment, with our excellent library system, a major source of answers.

CD-ROMS and other electronic forms of media will keep growing until as Mr. Strahl says . . . “where everything is digital” . . . with . . . “supposedly sophisticated structures (libraries) designed for a soon-to-be-obsolete purpose: book storage.”

CD-ROM ability is to gather as much information as possible on a specific topic in minimum time . . . but is that your goal, to spend the rest of your life staring at and playing with computer screens? Our Orange County libraries will remain live and vigorous into the foreseeable future to provide the best mix of both worlds. Regular readers and researchers will continue to enjoy reading well-illustrated hard-copy books for pleasure--and for research.

At 72, I’m darn glad I wasn’t born into the one-method push-button generation seeking instant answers. Mr. Strahl well defines the colorless digitized corporate world he may be seeking after graduation.

PATRICK M. ROYCE

Newport Beach