I have an RSS feed for “arts library” from Google News, so anytime there’s an article about arts and libraries it shows up on my homepage. Mostly they’re about art exhibits at libraries. Maybe a performance or a lecture by a visiting artist. But every once in awhile there’s a gem like this one: The State Library of Queensland has set up a new space called the Edge, described as:
A state-of-the-art facility that provides creative spaces and innovative programs; a welcoming place, buzzing with people inventing, creating, presenting and meeting peers.
They call it a “digital cultural centre.” (I see the death of the word “library” coming, don’t you? Digital cultural centre, urban mediaspace….lingo for the new library. Language for library leaders. “Library” – lame or legitimate language? Archaic or appropriate? Anacronistic and antiquated or still apropos and accurate? I’m on the fence, but I predict another blog post on that one. What about you, dear reader?)
Anyway, there’s a video that explains what the Edge is, so click here to check it out. They’ve got sound studios. They’ve got collaboration spaces. They’ve got hardware and software for media production and graphic design. Paper engineering and Robowars. Scientists collaborating with artists. Permanent screens and projectors everywhere! Fashionistas! A whole page on their website devoted to “Noise”! AND IT’S ALL PART OF THE LIBRARY SYSTEM!
God, it’s so cool I could plotz. Now I want to move to Queensland. I envision some visa problems, but maybe I can find some long-lost relatives in Australia who will adopt me. At the very least maybe I can visit someday, and bask in the glory of this latest Library of the Future.