Search

The massive development of digital technologies has led to more concerns about the continuing relevance of certain professions and traditional media. In this context, the Slovak National Library organised an online event Libraries Then and Now (Knižnice teraz a potom), whose main theme was the role of books and librarians in society. Considering problems associated with new media, including passive consumption of information and the growing gap between the information rich and information poor, many perceive the book as the main information resource for promoting culture. This was supported by a survey of seminar participants who associate the printed book with the aesthetic needs of the individual and with digital detox and to which e-books are more like a supplement. They have a similarly positive view of librarians but feel that they are not sufficiently valued by society. This is an effect of general negligence or distorted ideas about what their work involves. As the author puts it, librarians are guides through the huge amount of information and libraries are a vital venue for meaningful social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]