Caught My Eye: In the 21st Century University, Let’s Ban Books

In the 21st-Century University, Let’s Ban Books

Here is an article that is bound to ruffle more than a few feathers.  In this Chronicle for Higher Education commentary piece,  Marc Prensky articulates a book lover’s nightmare, at least a print book lover.  Prensky observes that “just about everything that an undergraduate needs to read is available in electronic form. Whatever isn’t there electronically, librarians, students, or professors can easily scan, as many already do.”  But rather than allowing things to take their natural course as we move progressively into a digital world, he wants to accelerate the process. Prensky advocates banning “nonelectronic books on campus.”  Many will see this as a provocative, extreme, and authoritarian viewpoint.  Others will think of it as a realistic vision of the future and as Prensky says “a positive step for our 21st-century students, and, I believe, for 21st-century scholarship as well.”  Regardless, his commentary needs to be read, discussed and debated.