They sit on my bookshelf, alone and neglected. Once they were highly valued, a world of information at my fingertips. They are my beautiful set of World Book Encyclopedias, and they are as out-dated as the dinosaurs.
Why are they out-dated and unused? The internet, of course. Why go to the trouble of opening a book, shuffling through alphabetically, and coming upon the information needed which is probably too old to be of any use any more, when I can go to the computer, type anything I want to know on the search bar, and, presto! There it is in a few seconds.
I worked hard to get this set of World Book, and Childcraft, the Cyclo-Teacher, the Dictionaries, and the atlas. Once upon a time, my son and I used them a lot.
In fact, I have two sets of Childcraft and the older set is my favorite. It has those wonderful old poems and nursery rhymes, the fables and children’s stories that have been around for centuries. Sometimes I open one of those old Childcraft books and re-read, just for the fun of it.
Many other things have gone the way of the dinosaurs, things I used to take for granted, things that gradually slipped out of use, so slowly that I don’t realize they’re gone until one day, I think, why doesn’t anyone use cursive writing any more? Or, why isn’t shorthand being taught in schools, or something frivolous like that.
Well, of course, the reason is clear. Those things aren’t needed any more. I have a sneaking fear, a creeping realization that, perhaps, some day, people may be obsolete. I hear about robots doing our work for us, performing operations, driving cars, providing companionship. A trickle of fear runs down my spine. Are these warning signs? Will I, one day, sit alone on a dusty shelf somewhere, watching a modern, mechanized world whirr and click and fly right past me? I feel in sympathy with my set of World Book and I can only say, “Boy! I hope not.”
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