20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

438 Cristina PopescuThey have to be good managers in order to organize and process printed anddigital materials and to find the balance between old and new informationsupport. They have to learn the new computer programs purchased by theirlibrary and train permanently to keep updated to discoveries that emerge ina hallucinating rhythm. Librarians will have to learn how to operate withmachines and software besides handling traditional documents.Nevertheless, librarians cannot be replaced by machines for the simplereason that people have not yet succeeded into building a machine capableto filter and analyse information like humans or capable to manage all thecomputer programs needed in librarianship and all attempts therein havefailed.As regards virtual libraries, we could ask ourselves whether they willreplace traditional libraries.Although there are divergent opinions in that problem, nobody deniesthe importance that traditional libraries will still detain. Virtual librarieshave on their side unlimited access to information and independencetowards collections, spaces and forms to fill. Moreover, virtual librariesoffer authors of unpublished books the opportunity to distribute copiesof their work so that anybody could “post” his/ her work on the Internet.On the other hand, virtual libraries were criticized for not employing thenecessary knowledge for library management, a skill which has been atwork for centuries in the traditional system. People reproach to computerscreens that they cannot replace the pleasant feeling of holding a real book,of admiring its cover and turning its pages 6 and not least that sitting forhours in front of a computer is damaging to people, especially to their sightand nervous system, especially if screen images are rapidly changing.However, what is changing and is still going to change in the future isthe image of traditional libraries as they are adapting to the new expectationsof readers, providing more new services all the time. In fact, that is the onlyway traditional libraries can compete the Internet and virtual libraries.Competition or complementary activity?Time will give us the answer to that question.6Bits and Bytes. Same reference.