Where are the tech books?

Where are the tech books – The Invisible Genre in Our Libraries

Technology is shaping our world faster than ever. However finding books about tech in libraries, both physically and digitally, can be a ridiculous struggle. Whether you’re searching for how technology impacts everyday life, the power of AI and if it’s taking over or even cybersecurity, many library shelves and apps like Libby seem to be lacking any suitable books for us. While fictional stories and your classic nonfiction books of an auto-biography of some random celebrity are always  there, tech books feel like the black sheep of the book family. In an era when reading and learning about technology is probably more important than it ever has been. Where are the tech books?

My experience with the library:

On Wednesday morning I set off to walk to my nearest library, in an attempt to find a technology book that is suitable for me and to recommend to my blog audience. By the time I had arrived, I was shivering from the 6 degrees celsius temperature and I was drenched from the pouring rain. Yet I expected there to be a light at the end of the tunnel, when I find all the books I need to help my blogs and learn more about technology. 

However, this was not the case. When I entered the library I started off by searching for the books I needed, by myself. I couldn’t find any section titled “technology” or anything similar. So I went to ask the librarian working there if they had any of the books I needed. We went through the system and we found only 1 out of the 7 books I needed and that 1 book was in Fulham. 

Then I proceeded to ask her if the library had any other tech books that she would recommend to me. She then took me around the entire library and we did not find a single book about technology. She told me that, “we can’t just magic them out of thin air!” 

My experience with Libby:

I then went back to the library the next day. Nice and early in the morning because I had forgotten to join the library the day prior, as it slipped my mind when I was looking for books. So I managed to successfully join the library without any issues. Once I got home I logged into the libby app with no difficulties. But when I searched “technology” and clicked enter I saw only 6 books about technology. Which I would consider to be insufficient and unacceptable. On top of that, 4 out of those 6 books were Spanish books, which I would not be capable of reading. Then the other two books just did not focus on what I was looking for. I was incredibly disappointed going through all this effort to not find anything of use. Even though technology books should not be anywhere near this difficult to find. I was planning on recommending 5 books about technology for teenagers but because Libby could not provide any resources for me to read through, I have had to scrap these plans.