Libraries: Plugged or Unplugged?
The traditional role of a library was one in which patrons sought solitude in the stacks as they poured over research books or caught up on the latest classics. Today’s library is very different. The environment is more communal – one in which information is shared and collaboration is apparent. Psychologists are now concerned that this connected environment may be having negative effects on today’s students. Several libraries now offer their patrons a place to disconnect, a refuge from cell phones and other idevices. These spaces, often known as “Walden zones,” allow students to experience an environment of focus and contemplation that psychologists say is becoming more rare in our connected society. Is the pendulum swinging back to an era when people were less consumed with what the rest of the world was doing, thinking, saying? Just a thought.
