He did not literally mean a library in the conventional sense, but a source of cultural resources in which users were free to browse, use and appropriate what they needed or what took their fancy. This seems to have an echo in recent surveys showing that what gets results is when radically new education practices arise as a reflection of the unique properties of the Internet. Now, as any teacher knows, computer enthusiasts will always like to find out what the latest system can do, where they can hack in to and who they can get hold of out there in the space behind the screen. There is a darkly ironic contrast between the leaden plod of unwilling learners through a syllabus and the energy, creativity and commitment that the self same learners bring to activities they freely choose to do, be they computer games, hobbies, socialising or causing trouble. Illich's point was that energy can be better fostered and amplified once schools are circumvented.
Schools impose teaching and destroy learning.
The urge to know and to understand, the birthright of all human beings, is downgraded into the defensive acquisition of authoritarian texts, driven by a fear of the consequences of ignorance. However, the authority of the text is under sharp deconstructive scrutiny. His point being that there are many voices and readings present in any single text, both those of the author, those of the reader and those unconsciously informing the production and reception of the text. While the texts are linear and prescriptive, the hypertexts are multidimensional and participatory. The very nature of narrative, of critical investigation of texts and of textual educational practice is set to change fundamentally under the impact of the Internet.