Imagine a world in which books -- those behind-the-times means of transmitting knowledge and understanding -- were
eradicated due to budget necessities. In Western Australia, the possibility seems a little closer to reality:
A lot of people don't have access to the internet, a lot of
people don't have the ability to afford to download books ... or training or
any other programs so it's important that we do keep our local libraries in our
smaller towns, and towns in general in regional WA....
An Internet-infused present may see the hand-writing on the wall as far as books are concerned. And maybe they're right. But I also smell and leap forward in the rush to institutionalized ignorance.
Our communications, our great thoughts, our history is as clear and durable as the media it's recorded on, from clay to papyrus to 1's and 0's. The latter is easier to erase and rewrite, and easily lost.
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