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Umberto Eco said libraries would become more important than ever in the post-Information Era

Umberto Eco said libraries would become more important than ever in the post-Information Era, since there is a natural and necessary process of selection that must occur with collective
Umberto Eco said libraries would become more important than ever in the post-Information Era, since there is a natural and necessary process of selection that must occur with collective
knowledge. Why do you think we have ignored this so far, and instead embraced a 'more is better' approach? What can we do to select effectively, and who should do it?
knowledge. Why do you think we have ignored this so far, and instead embraced a ‘more is better’ approach? What can we do to select effectively, and who should do it?

There has been a huge amount of ink about this subject, but it all boils down to: 1. trying to close pandora’s box by having some organizations select worthwhile information, and/or 2. trying to teach everyone how to filter their own selections effectively. Libraries have (of course) continued to select carefully; limited by budgets & space, libraries *can’t* do “more is better.” Libraries also do what they can to teach people how to evaluate sources, and are still one of the most trusted sources of information (right behind friends and family and medical experts). But when people are looking for information, only 2% go to libraries: https://pewrsr.ch/394aqfK. People unfortunately seem to prefer convenient but unreliable information that confirms their preconceptions over harder-to-find more reliable information that challenges them. I suppose that’s only human.