O The Technology of it All!

I went to the library one night this week. I hadn’t been there in a long time.

I won’t discuss using a computer instead of a card catalogue to locate the book I wanted. I got over that some time ago. And I’m used to having the woman at the circulation desk zap the barcode on my library card and the barcode on the book with a hand-held barcode zapper.

It’s what happened next that got me. A little machine belched out a little piece of paper similar to a cash-register receipt, which the woman tucked between the pages of the book before handing it back to me. This receipt shows the name of the library, the title of the book, a bunch of code numbers (including one for me, preserving my privacy), and the date the book is due back.

I never saw this one coming.

I am trying to envision a world in which no library book will ever again feel the impact of a rubber stamp upon that slip of paper glued to its flyleaf that, back in the good old days, showed the due date. What have we come to?

Of course, the receipt can double as a bookmark.

Since I’m on the subject, what about that technology that we did see coming? Not so many decades ago they (you know, they) said that someday there would be a computer that would fit into one room. Now we have computers that fit on your lap.

Also not all that long ago they said that some day you wouldn’t need money, everything would be handled electronically. Well, we’re there. Direct deposit, direct bill payments, PayPal, debit cards. Even McDonald’s takes debit cards now.

And yet…and yet…50 years ago they also told me that by the year 2000 we’d all be flying around the sky with jet packs on our backs.

Still waiting for that one.