Abstract
The purpose of this article is to illustrate in a historical perspective the consequences that the introduction of new media can have on library development. Libraries have through their long history continuously been challenged by new media. Recently, the information technology, i.e. the development of the digitization and dissemination of the so-called social media created a discussion about books and the survival of the libraries in the future. The discussion is in substance not new, since similar considerations prevailed when e.g. the telephone as well as the radio became more and more popular in the 20th century's first decades. Especially the radio was challenging the public libraries. While the phone immediately was accepted as a useful tool, the radio on the contrary was refused as a means of communication in public libraries. The theme of the article is taken into a theoretical framework depicted on recent media theories proposed by respective Enzensberger and Kittler. It seems obvious that their theories are useful in the study of the reception theory behind the spread of two new media in a context of the library development in the first decades of the 20th century.
| Original language | Danish |
|---|---|
| Journal | Dansk Biblioteksforskning |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 45-55 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISSN | 1604-7869 |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |