Stories beyond screens: human libraries in the era of technological advancement

I still remember being in standard one during my primary school, located in one of the rural areas of Negeri Sembilan. When I went to the library in quest of books to read, I had to go through several drawers to find the names of the authors or titles I wanted. At the time, my favorite children's book author was Enid Blyton, whose works were bestsellers all over the globe. It took me hours to dig through the alphabetized drawer designated with the letter 'B' for her name. It made us nostalgic for the good old days when most of us spent much time searching for just one book in the library. Discovering the book of your dreams would bring you immense joy. Before the digital age, libraries relied heavily on the card catalog for organizing and locating books within the library. Each book had corresponding catalog card, providing information such as the title, author, subject, and call number. a These cards were typically made of durable paper or cardstock and arranged alphabetically by author, title, and subject. Library users would search for books by author, title, or subject and note down the call number to locate the book on the library shelves. Library staff at that time maintained the card catalog by adding new cards for newly acquired books and removing cards for lost or removed books. Accessibility was usually located in the library's central area, with some larger libraries having multiple catalogs organized by different criteria. Nowadays, with the advent of computers and digital technology and the increasing Industrial Revolution 4.0, traditional card catalogs have gradually become obsolete. They have been replaced by online library catalogues such as the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC),