We aren’t there yet, but that is the trend. Colleges and universities are reducing the number of printed books they hold, as students increasingly use materials available online.

So reports Dan Way in today’s Martin Center article. Looking at the University of North Carolina system, he sees a decrease in books on shelves.

Writing about the big new James B. Hunt Library at N.C. State, Way states:

Most of the five-story library’s 221,000-plus square feet more closely resemble a blend of modern museum or international air terminal, topped off with mall food-court seating. There’s an art wall and audio rooms, a 390-seat auditorium and a café, an immersion theater, faculty work rooms and student study rooms, a learning commons, and a lactation room.

Absent is the monastic patina of tightly packed books, ranked along row after row of parallel shelves. Instead, glowing laptop screens permeate the panorama. Study buddies surf the Web, toil over homework assignments, and prepare for pending tests at a vast array of tables. Small groups work on PowerPoint and video projects in nearly 100 glass-lined study rooms.

Across the UNC System, we see a decline in the number of books in libraries. Even more pronounced, however, is the decline in usage of books by students. Most access what they need for their studies online. And while it’s still possible to obtain books, few students have any idea how it works.

At least, there has been a slight decrease in library costs.

Way interviewed some students. One of them, Bruno Linhales of Brazil, an engineering student, said, “I’m okay with the idea of transitioning to digital. I actually prefer it because it’s less content to carry on your back.” But Linhales did pause for thought about the potential for Big Brother-style politicized control over digital and electronic learning. “I think digital is good for us. It brings a lot of advantages, but it also makes us rely on someone else who controls the technology,” he said.