The singularity and the library.

Purpose – This article aims to consider what libraries might be used for after machines become smarter than humans. Design/methodology/approach – The article considers how Vernor Vinge's novel Across Realtime and his essay "The coming technological singularity" inform possible library futures. Findings – Libraries might become havens for humans left out of the high-tech future, or museums for defunct technologies, or vanish completely. Originality/value – The article expands discussion of the library's future beyond the foreseeable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]