Today's library, tomorrow's 'googlary'? - Can Google replace the Library?

“Google it!”

The disyllabic word hits the Internet by storm becoming one of the most well-renowned search engines ever to have materialised in the internet world. Ever since the proliferation and advancement of technology brought about a wealth of technological gadgets and gizmos, the birth of search engines was realised. With the world at our finger tips, any Google guru would be able to extract a myriad of information to any subject possible. With all this hype going on, there must be escalating speculation: Would Google replace Libraries? Personally, while I believe that Google has its own strong points which would best the Library, it would be hard to imagine the Library being overthrown by electronic configurations.

The sheer intellectual supremacy the library boasts outranks the mere tapping of the keyboard by leaps and bounds; the immense information packs the perfect recipe to a conducive learning environment. Upon stepping into a library, we see books neatly arranged on shelves, others scattered messily upon the table, dog eared, some open whilst some closed, we hear the constant ruffling of millions of pages, flipping, searching for that certain page. Our noses pick up the weak scent of rank pages, both new and historic. We can taste the magic in the air, a magic that can never be replicated by mere electronic framework on Google. Books were the original treasure boxes of information, and the accumulation of them in sheer numbers within libraries is proof that the library itself is the prime place to gather and harness information.

In our contemporary era, there is a possibility of counter-intuitive resurgence of the usage of libraries. The human race yearns for something that becomes rare, flawed it might be, the fact is that it would be the chemical preservative for the Library. Too much of Google might eventually lead to a spiralling escalation of the usage of Libraries. A parallel to this would be the revival in interest in religion, the obsession of certain DIY books and sports utility in certain urban areas where technology runs rampant and prevalent. With the over-usage of Google, bored homo-sapiens would crave for something “new”, something “different” something that would bless them with invigoration. That something would be the library. Hence, the library would unequivocally go on.

Arguably, Google has the capability to outmatch and outplay Google in a test of numbers, or more specifically, the number of resources. With the simple click of a few buttons meshed together with the “tap tap tap” of the keyboard, one has access to a myriad of web resources, something that is by far unparalleled, and something that is able to best the library. Yet again, with so much information, it would only result in a problematic dilemma for the user. Which source is reliable? Which source is the best? Which source can be trusted, which can’t? So many problems arise just by us searching for a set of information. Hence, despite the fact that Google is able to rid of many headaches, the double-edged sword is rigged with many drawbacks which could result in a larger headache; whilst in libraries, the shelves scientific journals would be the perfect painkiller for that throbbing headache. Hence, the library is still the best pharmacy and it is essential for all. Removing it is hard to imagine. Having it be replaced by Google is out of the question.

Without a doubt, Google has been a powerful tool to be used by everyone: researchers, teachers and even students. Then again, the library, the original store of information still boasts the title of being the best resource for bona fide information. Evidently, the library is unparalleled and cannot possibly be best by Google. That is, for now.