Future? Here

Stephen's Lighthouse highlighted this ages ago, but I only finally got around to looking at it.

It's a 1972 book called 2010: Living in the Future (Geoffrey Hoyle), which has been carefully photographed and placed online for our edification by Daniel Sinker, who also includes some interesting commentary.

Of special interest are the pages about the libraries of the future--I mean, the now.

It basically predicts that there will be no print books anymore, and that all library materials will be online, accessible either from within the library or offsite. The wording is a little different from how I just put it ("To select the book you wish to read, you dial the book’s number. The first page appears on your screen. You can turn the pages backward or forward by using buttons on the vision phone"), but I think the basic idea is pretty much there.

The 'vision phone,' mentioned elsewhere in the book as well, is totally a computer screen!

And while the e-only prediction isn't quite true (Cushing Academy aside), electronic resources are certainly huge in a lot of libraries, including the one where I work.

Nice work, Geoffrey Hoyle in 1972.

He also predicted free public transportation and electric cars that you could order in the morning and have delivered by afternoon.

I can't wait! Surely this will be available later this year.

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