Essays On Air: Why libraries can and must change

The much heralded 'death of the book' has nothing to do with the death of reading or writing. It is about a radical transformation in reading practices. Marcella Cheng/NY-CC-BD, CC BY-NC-ND

In the age of the globalisation of everything – and the privatisation of everything else - libraries can and must change. In fact, it’s already underway, as new technologies take books and libraries to places that are, as yet, unimaginable.

That’s what we’re unpacking today on Essays On Air, where we bring you fascinating long form essays in audio form.

Today, Camilla Nelson, Associate Professor of Writing at the University of Notre Dame, reads her essay, titled Why libraries can and must change.

Nelson takes us from the ancient Library of Alexandria to the New York Public Library and explores the problems that arise when books are excluded, destroyed, censored and forgotten. And, indeed, when libraries are decimated.

Join us as we read to you here at Essays On Air, a podcast from The Conversation.

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