(IELTS) Essay - Digital Technology vs Public Libraries Topic: Maintaining public libraries is a waste of time since digital technology is now replacing their function. To what extent do you agree or disagree? There is a heated debate over whether the advance in technology will replace traditional facilities, such as public libraries. In my opinion, I am in favor of the notion that digital technology will become more and more dominant, while physical libraries will continue to co-exist albeit having a reduction in number. There are those who maintain that the existence of public libraries is undoubtedly essential. From my conjecture, the primary reason for this belief mostly came from their experience in childhood and adolescence. Conventional libraries indeed provided access to human knowledge at an affordable price for impoverished students with strong motivation to learn. Another reason for libraries' preservation could be that in many cities, libraries also function as attractive tourist spots owing to either distinctive architecture design or their fascinating history. This line of reasoning is especially prevalent in Europe, where numerous libraries stood as witnesses throughout the two devastating World Wars. On the other hand, it is difficult to deny the rising of digital technology as an alternative to local libraries. Together with the popularization of the internet, a massive amount of human wisdom now has become widely available to everybody at almost zero cost. It is also notable how the physical capacity of a library warehouse is no longer a limitation to the quest of seeking knowledge. With the current technology infrastructure, now a student in Vietnam can easily enjoy a publication written by a Japanese author by having it electronically delivered to his devices in under a minute upon request. In conclusion, my own analysis is that digital technology is a clear winner when it comes to cost and delivery speed, thus this will be the prevailing trend from now onwards. On another side, I reckon that since public libraries still have other functions such as attracting tourists, their existence will not completely diminish in the foreseeable future.