Turns out, “The Reader’s Guide” is available online. But I have to pay for access – for some reason, the concept that all information should be free hasn’t yet reached them. Hasn’t reached the Telebase system either … Public libraries will go under if they offer this service.
Predictor: Stoll, Clifford
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “Silicon Snake Oil,” writer Clifford Stoll shares his take on the Internet’s future implications for libraries:”Turns out, ‘The Reader’s Guide’ is available online. But I have to pay for access – for some reason, the concept that all information should be free hasn’t yet reached them. Hasn’t reached the Telebase system either. Glance through their catalog of services for the IQuest reference services. There are maybe 800 databases to search, including ‘Who’s Who,’ Consumer Reports, Magill Survey of Cinema and the Los Angeles Times. Handy, but expensive: $5 to scan for one piece of information. It’s easy to drop $100 inside an hour. Public libraries will go under if they offer this service.”
Biography:Clifford Stoll was an astrophysicist who also wrote the influential books “Silicon Snake Oil” (1995) and “The Cuckoo’s Egg.” A long-time network user, Stoll made “Silicon Snake Oil” his platform for finding fault with the Internet hype of the early 1990s. He pointed out the pitfalls of a completely networked society and offered arguments in opposition to the hype. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: Libraries/Databases
Name of publication: Silicon Snake Oil
Title, headline, chapter name: Wherein the Author Considers the Future of the Library, the Myth of Free Information, and a Novel Way to Heat Bathwater
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 196
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Tencer, Elizabeth L.