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	Podcast:		The Forum
	Episode:		Libraries in the Digital Age
	Category:		Society & Culture
	Duration:		00:49:27
	Publish Date:		2025-03-15 07:06:00
	Description:		What is the purpose of libraries in the era of the internet and AI? Whether at a school or in a community, libraries used to be key providers of information and enjoyment for many. But now, in a digital age, more books and periodicals are available online than even the biggest library can hold. If terabytes of text can now be stored on a single laptop, do we need to think differently about the way we access and navigate books? Could well-designed AI tools be trusted to make sense of this information abundance in a similar way that a good librarian can? Rajan Datar discusses the past, present and future of libraries with Randa Chidiac, Director of Library Services at the American University in Dubai; Dr. Andrew Hui, Head of Literature Studies at Yale-NUS College in Singapore; and Brewster Kahle, computer engineer and digital librarian, founder of the Internet Archive and Wayback Machine. We also hear from World Service listeners. (Photo: An artist's impression of a digital book. Credit: Alengo/Getty Images)
	Total Play:		0