Some people think that maintaining public libraries is a waste of public money since a computer system can replace their function. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Technology in the present day world has revolutionized services and facilities in almost all facets of life. Public libraries have also benefited to a great extent by the use of computers. Some people have also benefited to a great extent by the use of computers. Some people present an argument that governments should not spend money in maintaining them as computers can replace them. However, this suggestion does not seem feasible enough for most countries.

There are many reasons why computers cannot completely replace public libraries in the near future. First, libraries contain books written in many different languages whereas  majority of software programs are developed in English which creates problems for the programmer in displaying information regarding such books efficiently. Secondly, it is indeed difficult to read books on computers as it has implications for the health of our eyes. In addition, it is expensive because computers need infrastructure which may not be affordable in the rural areas of developing economies.

Thirdly, not all the people who visit a library may be computer savvy. Thus, it is extremely difficult for many members of public libraries to access the services and to get benefits from it. Finally, computers are also vulnerable to technical glitches. They do succumb to system crashes, viruses, hardware or software related problems and in such a situation it shall become next to impossible to access any book in the library.

However, according to some people computers do have benefits to offer. One of them is, they save time and they need less space. We can store thousands of books in a small 3.5 inch hard drive. Also, life of books is longer in digital form compared to their versions on paper. Most importantly, with the help of computers, books of the library can be accessed by people  beyond geographical borders.

Finally, considering the points on the either side of the given topic, I conclude that computers should be used to facilitate library functioning but in the near future they should not completely replace the public libraries.