The computer doesn’t duplicate proximity? So hyperlinks and search engines don’t add more utility to the system than the utility lost by unused library stacks?
The proximity was nice, but mostly proximity of same category topics. That is mostly replaceable if someone makes a search engine on books, perhaps with a Dewey decimal number mode.
Also consider that developed cities and thus universities are becoming more and more crowded. Study space is at a premium. The unused stacks should be kept mostly as wall dividers between new study cubicles, so that the new students have enough places to study. I think overall the utility increase is much higher
