Amsterdam Breathes New Life into Old Information Institution
April 19, 2009
A happy quack to the reader who sent me the link to Andrew Keen’s “Digital Dutch Masterpieces” here. The article points out that libraries can be both old and new media. He wrote:
at the Amsterdam public library. Instead of the dustiness and crustiness of the typical 20th century library, visitors to Amsterdam’s central public library will find not only books, but a restaurant as well as a children’s theatre and a public radio and television studio. The library, which is open every day from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm, also holds a series of cultural festivals – such as the upcoming week of poetry – which it then broadcasts on the Internet. Amsterdam library’s website epitomizes its innovative approach to the 21st curation of knowledge. The website features its own customized search engine, the “aquabrowser”, which has integrated the library’s books, CDs and DVDs as well as a rich archive of Amsterdam’s history and culture. Equally innovatively, the website provides those who use it within the walls of the library itself open access to all its digital content.
I did not resonate with the assertion that the library has a “return on investment”. That phrase has a specific meaning in financial circles. I think that the Amsterdam effort returns significant social value. One hopes other libraries absorb the lessons of this case.
Stephen Arnold, April 19, 2009
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