[Web4lib] A Delicious Future for Libraries?

[Lars Aronsson]

Peter Morville wrote:

> Our culture does not reward illiteracy. On the contrary, it's 
> almost impossible to function in modern society without 
> mastering the skills of written communication.

Today in "Ny Teknik", Sweden's engineering weekly, I read an 
interview (http://nyteknik.se/pub/ipsart.asp?art_id=43044) with a 
retired chemical engineer who has just published his memoirs (my 
translation):

  - Initially I wasn't at all used to sit at a keyboard and type 
  letters, says Karl-Johan Allsing.  During my worklife I was 
  dictating everything that should be written.  Thus I started 
  to type only with my two index fingers.  But there were so 
  many errors that I have changed to using only one.

This is a fully industrialized society and a highly eduated, 
successful and rewared man, born in 1931.  He was so rewarded that 
he never had to learn to type.  Maybe libraries should teach 
typing to retired people?


-- 
  Lars Aronsson (lars at aronsson.se)
  Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se