Execupundit.com: What Used to Be the Library. Certainly, libraries filled with books in print are out of favor in our digital society. We can have the content, and even look, of thousands of books in a tiny digital device that we hold in our hands. But, books, as repositories of human knowledge, and purveyors of the essential soul of humans, will never die. They will live on, as humans do, in different forms. They will, however, serve the same function: to remind us of our humanity, to educate our sensibilities, and to serve as a barrier to the barbarians at the gate. Reading is more than fundamental. It is an essential safeguard to our humankind. If you aren't reading, you are dying. Reading is preferable.