How Libraries Went from Quiet Zones to Technological Thunderdomes
Libraries are undergoing a revolutionary transformation, integrating AI and open data to become powerhouses of digital innovation. UNAM's conference highlights how these institutions are evolving from traditional book repositories into dynamic hubs for academic research.
Libraries, those once-silent halls of hushed whispers and dust, are now at the very edge of a technological revolution. Yes, those brick-and-mortar temples of knowledge, usually filled with dusty tomes and the scent of leather-bound volumes, are joining the 21st-century digital party. And who better to lead the charge than the folks over at UNAM (the National Autonomous University of Mexico), a place that doesn’t do anything by halves?
Elsa Margarita Ramírez Leyva, the no-nonsense director of the General Directorate of Libraries and Digital Information Services (try saying that three times fast), stood up at the XXI International Conference on University Libraries to declare the time for change. But not just any change. Oh no. We're talking “Smart Libraries,” as she dubbed it—libraries fully armed with artificial intelligence (AI) and open data capabilities to supercharge academia as we know it. This isn’t about moving a few books online or downloading the Dewey Decimal System to an app. This is about turning libraries into high-octane hubs of technology and research.
