Library won't lend till 2114!

Things happen so very differently in Norway. Maybe because their quality of life is so good that they ae able to think so well, so creatively.

That’s what we thought when we read this piece about Oslo building its Future Library. Yes, they have begun the process of putting in place a library which will open only in 2114, 100 years from now. in the year 2114, the wood from 1,000 spruce saplings growing here will be turned into paper and used to print an anthology of 100 unpublished books -- which no one is allowed to read until then.

They are actually planting a forest of 1000 trees for making the paper and the facility for the library in 2114. This is the brainchild of Scottish artist Katie Paterson, who wanted to create an original library of 100 manuscripts from established authors, to be printed 100 years in the future. The idea was accepted by the Norwegian Govt and since 2014, the ‘work’ has begun. So far, four manuscripts have been completed and archived, each the subject of a special ceremony that takes place every year in the forest, called "The Handover." One more will be added each year for 96 years to come. The fifth author has already been selected: The fifth author is already selected - South Korean novelist Han Kang, a recent winner of the Booker Prize for "The vegetarian" in 2016. The ‘Handover’ is scheduled for May 25, 2019.

What is extremely fascinating about this Future Library is that readers in 2114 may require a "paleo-anthropologist" to decode some of it, because of how language will have evolved over the course of a century. By that time, Atwood's novel will be the oldest in the anthology, while the last work to be filed -- due in 2113 -- will have only aged one year.

What is interesting is that readers in 2114 may require a "paleo-anthropologist" to decode some of it, because of how language will have evolved over the course of a century. By that time, Margaret Atwood – the first author’s novel will be the oldest in the anthology, while the last work to be filed -- due in 2113 -- will have only aged one year.