The Ghent Review Vol 1 number 2 | Page 55

cultural foundations . With the goal to assist man in this time of change by creating transforming experiences , reshaping modes of perception . Leading the world to pathways beyond sustainability . The library project is about the awareness of the uncertainty that is an integral part of life , as well as the chaos inherent in the human condition . The library project is not only about questioning the industrial civilization we life in , but also the dominant culture on which it is based . Grasping the vicious spiral that ties the dirtying of the environment to the sullying of the spirit . We see a global repression of the nature of our own bodies and minds by a culture of exploitation , existing for millennia in an almost unchanged form . The human is a mental-spiritual being . Guiding stories , images , and insights of love and resistance will continue to accumulate in his cells until he recognizes and realizes them . The library project doesn ' t regard its mission to collect and preserve cultural works as selfevident . The project is as much about criticizing than honouring our cultural heritage . The library was created as a statement to help starting up the global reaction of change in the coming century . Fully supporting the possibility of radical upheaval the Biblioteca del Sol was realized , not as a memorial , but a source of life . Opposing all cunning and deceit .
DIGITAL AGE
The impact that digital technologies have on cultural forms can no longer be denied . New technologies as well as the overall and instant availability of information , not only transform our daily life and routine , but also redefine society towards the concept of fluidity . All in all this represents a clear instability of the role of old traditions , and manifests a distinct desire for new content and tasks within the changing information society . It would be disastrous not to open up towards these technologic developments . Opening up meaning not only becoming aware of its dangers , but also to apply its many great opportunities in the fulfilment of set goals . The library aspired the task to emphasize the shift in the preservation of library materials in a confronting way . Even more so since the borders of written information and digitalization are totally dissolving .
Man became believing so unconditionally in the titanic ship of progress , that the library builders saw it as their mission to realize a cultural lifeboat as a hardcore back-up for the future , confronting contemporary taboos surrounding our civilization ' s predicament . In contrast to a world of ongoing digitalization , the library project only preserves printed matter . Digitized information , especially on the Internet , has such rapid turnover these days that loss is the norm . Mankind is developing severe amnesia as a result ; indeed we may have become too conditioned to notice it . The trust in digital technologies are drastically reshaping our cultural world on all levels . This reflects also how books are preserved by libraries . Many of their materials are moving to " off site repositories " to make space in central buildings for more meeting and online work spaces . These repositories are filling quickly and prompt the de-accessioning of books . Traditional libraries already started thinning their collections and throwing out books based on what had been digitized on the internet . While we understand the need to digitalize cultural holdings , we believe this should be done thoughtfully and aware of its long-term implications .
With the global explosion of digitalization , we might find ourselves living one day in a digital dark age . A possible future where it will be difficult or impossible to read historical electronic documents , because they have been stored in an obsolete medium , or even totally gone . A monumental risk that needs to be mitigated . Remember the faith of previous