What's a library?

I have a library at home, okay it's a large wall crammed with fiction, non fiction, coffee table and business books, CDs, DVDs, along with magazines I can't seem to throw out. I'm proud to have a library because it makes me look intelligent and when people come over, we occasionally discuss titles and I recommend and lend them books. I still buy books but nowhere near as many as I used to and that seems a shame to me, when I consider myself a reader. I used to think you needed to show the spoils of being a reader, a wall crammed with books, but today that wall has been replaced by infinite shelf space in the cloud and in cheap external hard drives available to all.

So now, if I tell you I'm a reader and say my books are in the cloud and you have to believe me as the library no longer becomes the evidence. You can't see the books, you can't touch the books but the lending part is certainly a lot easier. I am a reader but everything has changed in regards to my reading patterns as I rarely carry a single book to read cover to cover. I now have several open at the same time in my Kindle or iBook collection and I never lose my place but I certainly lose my train of thought regarding the linearity of reading front to back, one at a time.

My reading has become attuned to the technology available, that is, everything at once without a break. So I attack that challenge by using meta search engines such as Zite, Flipboard or Pulse, giving me sound bites of information covering everything without a break. I'm afraid my reading habits have changed, away from the library, changed to suit the large amount of information required on a daily basis when more than a single screen executive summary starts to become tedious, unless written in the most erudite style. Like Google search, I'm surprised if I scroll to the second page and if I think about that too much, it makes me sad because reading a single book at a time is not enough anymore. Certainly not, when you throw in the time constraints of today's business world and how much is expected when it comes to keeping up.

I walked past the state library recently and was dismayed to see the majority of people inside, not reading books but utilising the free WiFi. Maybe they were reading books online, but if they don't see the books inside will the libraries become a relic to the past, will they be designated buildings to house books showing how intelligent and forward thinking we used to be or is there hope print will survive. I now lament my Kris Kringle present of an iTunes card to be used for online books. Will my library end up in the cloud, no doubt but as a wise friend pointed out, does it matter as long as you keep reading?