Libraries Still in the Book Business?

The Deseret Morning News has yet another story about library renovation—in this case at the University of Utah, Utah State University, and Utah Valley State College. The renovations will feature some typical additions: computer banks, coffee shops, and robot-retrieval systems. A caption in the story celebrates the demise of paper items: "Rows and rows of shelves of books are still there at the U. library, but they are becoming a thing of the past." It seems a little hasty to announce the death of the book, particularly since students have shown that they like to handle and read lengthy texts in books, not on screen. Yet these obituaries for books keep rolling in.