Metaphysics of the Library

Abstract

Librarianship as a science and skill of the organization of knowledge and its products is evolving and, like all other scientific or practical disciplines, it is forced to keep up with the times. In this evolutionary path, traditional theories and notions of libraries and librarianship as professions are changing and reaching far beyond the traditional ones – almost to the limits of science fictions. Nevertheless, theories which were until recently considered fictional literary and artistic performances are today already seen from an extremely constructive and rational perspective. One of the most interesting examples is the experience and vision of the library in the fictional world of Jorge Luis Borges. Following his prophetic observations woven into his literary universe, many scholars from various fields, are trying through a multidisciplinary approach to reconstruct and create an image of the library of the future reshaped in a way that can respond to demands of modern times. Mostly thanks to the enormous technological development and challenges it brings, visions of a Universal Library seem feasible and lead to rethinking of existing and creating new theories about the future role of the library and the essence of library practice. It is interesting and challenging from today’s professional perspective to think about the way that library will be understood in the near or distant future, what it will look like and which of the existing visions – scientific or literary – will be closer to realization in reality.