Silence. Then a rustle of pages that almost no one flips through anymore. The librarian looks up from the screen where an AI is cataloging three thousand volumes in two minutes, and smiles. It's not nostalgia for the old paper catalogs. It's curiosity for what's to come. Outside, a smart locker delivers a tablet to a student. Inside, a VR headset transports a child to ancient Rome while his father explores quantum programming manuals. This stuff is already here, in dozens of Italian and European libraries.
And in ten years? It will only be the beginning of something no one predicted when everyone imagined the end of these places.
The Wrong Prophecy
In 2004When digital books began to spread and the internet promised to make everything accessible from home, many tech experts proclaimed the imminent end of physical libraries. Twenty-one years later, libraries are still here: those in the USA, for example, record over 1,3 billion visits annually. Not only have they survived, but they are undergoing a transformation that will make them more central than they have ever been.
The real question was never whether libraries would disappear. It was: what will they become when technology stops being a threat and becomes an amplifierThe answer is coming now, piece by piece, through cataloging algorithms, certifying blockchains, and transportable visors.
2035 will mark the completion of this metamorphosis.
Artificial intelligence as a personal librarian
Imagine walking into a library and finding a system that's already selected five books for you, based not only on your borrowing history but also on your recent interests, the time of year, and even your mood. This is artificial intelligence applied to library services, and it's already taking its first steps.
In China, some libraries are using AI-powered robots that sort out two thousand volumes in just ten minutes., a job that would take a human being hours, maybe days. But the real leap in quality is not about speed: it's about customizationReading recommendation systems will become so sophisticated that they understand not only what you've read, but what you need to read based on your learning path.
Secondo an analysis by ConflombardiaArtificial intelligence will automate the cataloging of new arrivals, reduce the time required to enter materials into the system, and ensure more consistent classification. OCR technologies are digitizing historic and rare materials, finally making them accessible from miles away. Libraries are transforming into dynamic digital archives.
But AI won't replace human librarians. It will free them from repetitive tasks to focus on what they do best: helping people navigate the complexity of knowledgeAn AI can recommend ten books about ancient Rome. A librarian can explain why one of those ten will change your view of history.
Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Library: Learning While Traveling
Studying the American Civil War or the Italian Risorgimento by reading a book is one thing. Walking through Gettysburg or Custoza while the battle unfolds around you is quite another. The libraries of 2035 will offer immersive learning experiences that today seem to belong only to high-tech hubs.
In Milan, The ARchivi project is already experimenting with augmented reality In historic libraries like the Sormani and the Natural History Museum, visitors can see digital content superimposed onto physical reality by framing a page with their smartphone: historical documents come to life, maps come to life, and historical figures tell their stories.
The global B2C augmented reality market will grow from $24,5 billion in 2024 to $37,8 billion in 2029., with the education sector as one of the main drivers of this growth. And libraries are positioning themselves at the center of this revolution.
The real paradigm shift will come when VR technology will become so accessible that every library will be able to offer experiences that are currently reserved for a few cutting-edge centers.Study human anatomy while watching a 3D heart beat before you. Explore coral reefs while reading about marine ecosystems. Visit the Colosseum as it was two thousand years ago. All this, in the library down the street.
Blockchain: certifying knowledge
Have you ever completed an online course, obtained a PDF certificate, only to lose the file in a cluttered computer? By 2035, this problem will no longer exist. Libraries will issue digital certificates recorded on blockchain: unforgeable, permanent, and verifiable by anyone anywhere in the world.
According to a report by Deloitte, by 2027, blockchain will become the standard for document certification in the education and cultural sectors. It is no longer a hypothesis, but a transition that has already begun.. Several European universities are already using the technology to issue verifiable digital diplomas.
Imagine this scenario: you complete a programming course at the library, pass a practical test, and immediately receive a blockchain certification. An employer in Japan can verify its authenticity in three seconds, without the need for intermediaries or bureaucratic procedures. Your expertise becomes portable, verifiable, and immortal in the distributed ledger.
But blockchain in libraries isn't just for certificates. It can be used for create permanent archives of local knowledgeCommunity history, public documents, cultural records. When a small local newspaper closes or an organization dissolves, their history doesn't disappear. It lives forever, immutable and accessible, in the blockchain managed by the library.
The library that never closes
It's 3:00 a.m. You have an exam tomorrow morning and you desperately need that statistics book. In 2025, you're stuck until it opens. In 2035, you walk up to the smart locker at the nearest library, unlock it with your smartphone, grab the book, and go home to study.
The concept of a “24/7” library is already taking shape. Smart locker networks They're appearing outside libraries, in supermarkets, and in subway stations. They don't just contain books: tablets, laptops, mobile hotspots, tools for content creators, even musical instruments. The library comes to you, instead of waiting for you to come to it..
According to the data collected by theAmerican Library Association, 95% of library professionals identify round-the-clock access to materials as the most important feature to implementIt's not just about convenience: it's about equity. Those who work nights, those who have unpredictable hours, those who live far from central libraries—everyone will have equal access to knowledge.
And when smart lockers aren't enough, there will be the digital library. Platforms accessible anytime, anywhere, with AI that answers questions in real time, video conferences with specialized librarians, access to databases that currently cost thousands of euros. All included, all free, all available when needed.
Libraries, makerspaces, and laboratories of the future
Libraries are becoming places where people not only read, but create. 3D printers, laser cutters, video editing workstations, electronics labs. makerspaces They are transforming libraries into innovation incubators accessible to all.
In 2035, These spaces will be even more advanced. They could house the first consumer versions of technologies currently reserved for research laboratories: quantum simulation systems, secure biohacking tools, neural interfaces for accelerated learning. Technologies that no individual could afford, but which the community can share through the library.
In Italy, The Emilia-Romagna Region has allocated 15 million euros for 76 digitalisation projects including artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. Libraries, museums, and archives are receiving funding to create cutting-edge digital infrastructure. This isn't an isolated experiment: It is a national strategy to transform cultural institutions into technological hubs.
The human element: amplified, not replaced
With all this technology, you might think librarians would become obsolete. Quite the opposite. Their role is evolving from bookkeepers to learning architects, guides through the growing complexity of human knowledge.
An AI can catalog three thousand books in two minutes, but it can't sit down with a confused teenager and help them figure out which course of study to choose. A VR headset can transport you to ancient Greece, but it can't answer the question "why should I care?" Technology amplifies human capabilities, not replaces them.
As Ethan Mollick points out, professor at Wharton School: Believing that technicians are best suited to manage AI is a mistake. Anyone who knows history, culture, and literature and above all philosophy unlock the potential of artificial intelligence better than those who only know algorithms. Librarians of the future will be humanistic technologists: people who understand both machines and humans..
In 2035, librarians will mediate between algorithmic and human knowledge. They will help people distinguish reliable information from that generated by faulty AI, understand hidden biases in recommendation systems, and navigate complex ethical issues that technology raises. It will be a more difficult job than today, but infinitely more important.
Democracy of knowledge
The true power of libraries in the future won't be technological. It will be social. In a world where access to knowledge increasingly determines life chances, libraries will remain the only spaces where that access is guaranteed to everyone, regardless of income.
A family that can't afford a thousand-euro VR headset can use one at the library. A student without a computer can access professional software. A senior citizen who wants to learn how to use artificial intelligence will find free courses and human support. The library of 2035 will be the last bastion against two-speed digitization.
There are obstacles, of course. Not all libraries will have the resources to invest in these technologiesThe risk is that a gap will arise between rich, high-tech, and accessible libraries, and poor libraries, limited to basic services. To avoid this, far-sighted public policies, sustained investments over time, and collaborations with universities and technology companies are needed.
But if we can deliver on the democratic promise of libraries, if we can bring these technologies to everyone, not just those who can afford them, then 2035 could mark the beginning of a new era for humanity. An era in which artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain don't amplify inequalities, but reduce them. Where technology becomes a tool of liberation, not control.
Libraries have survived print, radio, television, and the internet. They will also survive artificial intelligence. Not because they resist change, but because they know how to transform it into opportunity. In 2035, when you enter a library, you may no longer recognize the shelves, catalogs, or tools. But you will recognize the mission: democratize access to knowledge, amplify human possibilities, build communities through shared knowledge.
The future of libraries isn't written in chips or algorithms. It's written in the choices we make: to use technology to divide or unite, to exclude or include. The libraries of 2035 will be what we decide to make of them today.
