🏷️ Categories: Software, Learning.
Change never asks for permission, and it shakes institutions, countries, and societies.
The printing press shook the monasteries. The internet shook the newspapers. Today, artificial intelligence and the digital world are shaking libraries.
This article is about that great change ahead: what role physical libraries can (and must) play, and above all, the role of librarians in a 21st century where access is no longer the problem—but excess is. My thesis is simple: the building “library” is ceasing to be the center; the person “librarian” is about to become the most essential professional in digital culture.
It all depends on whether we harness the true potential of technology.
The transformation of the information ecosystem
The digital age has forced libraries to question their purpose.
The old model of a “book warehouse” made sense under a clear logic: few books, expensive, and far from the average citizen. Centralizing them allowed thousands of people to gain access.
That world no longer exists.
Information today is taken for granted. It is ubiquitous. Its production and consultation cost is practically zero. In this situation, defending the library as a “book warehouse” is a lost battle. Defending the people who know how to navigate—and teach others to navigate—that ocean of data, on the other hand, is the future. It means shifting from managing shelves to managing ideas and conversations.
That is the difference.
AI doesn’t eliminate the need to consult information; it multiplies it. A good AI gives you a hundred “plausible” answers in one second; a good librarian advises you on what quality information to feed the AI in the first place and how to frame the right question to obtain valuable ideas and connections.
The bottleneck shifts: from access to information to the criterion of choice.
We all have information—perhaps too much. But how many know which of it is worth their time?
The librarian, as an expert in information management, holds the answer.
How we got here
Before Gutenberg, a book was a fortune.
Few hands. Much control. The library was a sanctuary of wisdom. The librarian, as we understand the role today, appeared later—when the accumulation of texts demanded an interpreter. With the printing press, books became cheaper and the diversity of titles exploded. The library expanded as an organized repository of this abundance, and the librarian became even more necessary in that vast warehouse.
Then the digital era arrived, and the paradigm completely changed.
Search habits changed. Wikipedia and large databases displaced the library as the first resource for research. Ebooks made local storage irrelevant. And now, AI and the cloud make even manual searching and local information storage obsolete.
So what challenges do libraries and librarians face?
The challenges of the digital information-overload era
1. The fall of the “book warehouse” model
When access is free and ubiquitous, buying and storing books is no longer valuable. Teaching people how to navigate and advising them on information navigation is what becomes valuable. Digital platforms surpass any shelf in discovery and personalization, so the “book warehouse” model cannot remain the goal.
2. Public resistance to change
The collective imagination still pictures the “library” as a silent hall of endless corridors. That’s why attempts to move collections to off-site storage face public backlash. This happened with the New York Public Library’s plan to relocate books to a New Jersey warehouse (Farago, 2014). Even if the public rarely consults those shelves, the building is a symbol. Some libraries are already perceived more as monuments than functional spaces.
3. Environmental overload
The problem is no longer “finding the needle”; it’s that there are too many needles. Too many interesting pieces, constantly updating. This excess induces analysis paralysis. The result: more information no longer translates into more knowledge. We have reached the point of saturating our analytical capacity altogether.
The librarian of the future may hold the solution to these problems.
The librarian of the future
1. The physical library as a center for creating value
The building doesn’t disappear—but its purpose changes.
It shifts from being a silent warehouse to a cooperative workspace, a coworking hub. Meetings, project tables, open forums, rooms… A central spot in the city where public projects are debated, decisions are made, companies hold meetings, and initiatives are executed.
Fewer shelves, more tables; less “silence,” more “what’s the next step?”
2. Information advisory and management
Librarians are experts in information management—they just need a new focus.
The librarian can step fully into the technological space, much like someone bringing order with digital catalogs. They design and manage catalogs with highly detailed tagging (titles, context, themes, ideas, problems solved). That way, you can search the way you speak: “show me books that explain X with case studies of Y.” It’s like using AI, but to dive only into a trusted, expert-reviewed shelf of knowledge that you choose.
In this way, the librarian will continue to serve as the guide in the search for information.
It will take generations to create norms, legal frameworks, and to adjust to this shift.
In the meantime, there is a historic opportunity for those who accept the new assignment: to stop being guardians of shelves and become catalysts of knowledge. The library as a place will remain—but it will no longer be the protagonist.
Now, the protagonist will be the librarian.
✍️ Your turn: What do you think the future of libraries and librarianship will be?
💭 Quote of the day: “Wow! Where did you get that idea? —From the library.” —William Kamkwamba, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
See you next time! 👋
References 📚
Farago, J. (2014). New York Public Library abandons controversial renovation plans. The Guardian. URL
Your mention of a "hub" where people can meet, discuss, make decisions is already in process. There's one in Carson City, NV, the state capitol, that facilitates individuals and start-ups to have workspace without the initial cost of setting up an office. Also, the library here facilitates study groups, and even has a "maker" space with power tools and 3D printers that can be "checked out" or used on site. While libraries still serve the needs of homeschoolers and other learners including ESL, and elders, they also allow for indigent or homeless people to shelter during the day. These people benefit from access to computers to look for jobs, educational opportunities, and other needs. It doesn't surprise me that the purpose of a book warehouse became obsolete long ago.
fascinating thesis, alvaro. yes, librarians are experts in information gathering. i like the "hub" idea. it has been happening in libraries in one form or another, for years. there remains the question about physical books. i hope we do not lose them. holding a book remains essential for many, i am sure. i never took to reading on tablets/screens. never liked it. give me the book, please. and then that age-old reputation that librarians have always had; enforcing the "shush" yet mild mannered, geekish and bespectacled. your vision will have them as info-cool-gurus. good. thanks, alvaro. keep going!