The ruler Ptolemy I Soter is crowned by the Goddesses who
preside over South Egypt and North. Wall-painting at Edfu,
redrawn by S Pollaroli. Mary Evans Picture Library/Everett
Collection  “Where is the knowledge we have lost in
information?”—T.S. Eliot, “The Rock” (1934)  Back when I was in
college, I was elected librarian of the Harvard Lampoon in a
contest that seemed unusually tight despite the fact that I
think my run was uncontested. The undergraduate humor magazine
is housed in a mock Flemish castle that dates back to 1909, and
I was supposed to find funny books to stock the Lampy library, a
quirky, circular chamber with a secret sliding bookshelf that
opened up to a hidden room.  Libraries, for me, have always been
portals to unexpected places, but in the coming years some of
them could become casualties of the internet age. Much of this
will be a topic of discussion at The Public Library
Association’s (PLA) biennial Conference, set to be held next
month in Indianapolis. Public school libraries are end