Probably my (albeit subconscious) original motivtion in this post was exploring what exactly libraries in the 21st century are for. This applies across the board not just to medical and academic libraries but public ones too. There are few places left where anyone can find peace and quiet in order to think and / or study outside perhaps a monastery.  Phones in libraries...the thin end of the wedge? Why not ghetto blasters too? This isn't meant to sound reactionary, but surely libraries if they are going to exist in 100 years time must remain the last bastion of tranquility. A space where contemplation and thought are possible without the distraction of music, conversation, traffic...There are few places left where this is possible. I wonder if libraries are simply to become another area for multimedia and social interaction, then maybe they aren't libraries any more. Interestingly, entering the very 21st century British Library reading room, festooned with laptops everywhere, the thing that hits you, almost physically, is the silence. A very rare thing. Libraries (and this goes for CILIP too if anyone is reading this from there) urgently need to sort out their USP now. Before it's too late.