Hello everyone,



I am a bit surprized that the thread is on the future of libraries, but everyone talks about the very near future. I feel that that talk is implicitly about how to make the best use of current resources, how to preserve the library, etc. This is not the Future. This is the near future. A transitional period. 



We need to look at the historically developed functions of the library. The main function is the repository of information. But evidently the library had served additional functions driven by the accumulation of critical mass of people who gather to access the information in the repository. 



Now this repository is in the cloud and you can access it at home. I agree that we might need assistance with our information searches, but this can be done on-line, like in our library. Why would you go to the library? For the additional functions of that (social) institution. However, are there or will there be other institutions that will perform better those functions? 



I agree that we might need assistance with our information searches, but this can be done on-line, like in our library.



Is the best place for fab lab in the library? Or we need a new institution on campus? Is the best place of the collab lab in the library? The tutoring center? It is in the library because there is unused space and free personnel that can do that job. Collaborative research? We might need an institution that will serve that issue better than a library. Community building? Cultural institution? Well, now we are moving closer to a Campus Professional Development Center. In my university, we have both. 



We don't have many important institutions on campus and nobody cares. Actually, I have to confess that there are periodical attempt and campaigns, but they fail very quickly. There is not critical mass despite of the need. This is the complexity of the situation. 



I agree that the gradual "fading" of the information function of the library forces it to get into niches that are underserved. But this doesn't mean that the library with its current culture and staff training will be the best option for satisfying those needs. It only means that someone is getting into a "market" niche before another entity. Maybe to the detriment to the other entity, and maybe stalling the emergence of the other entity/institution.



This is an important example how one social institution and the corresponding organizations are changing each year and we can see it not only in our life time, but in a very short period.



At the same time, this thread is interesting because it shows that even the design community doesn't have the guts to design the future in an optimal way. All I see is an attempt to resuscitate the library because we are accustomed to it and we need some of para-information functions that it provides. 



Several disclosures. I have thousands of paper books that now are a logistical problem for me. I hate the current monitors that are not good ergonomically and hurt the eyes. (We have to wait about 30 years to see the effects of these screens on the Millennials.) I would like that the transition is soft and there are enough possibilities for gradual retooling of all library personnel to continue working in areas of their choice and liking. This is a valuable personnel with exceptional training and intellectual qualities that need to be used by society. These people have studied and learned all their lives and the society should use their expertise. Many of them can teach excellent humanities and social science courses, information organization and retrieval courses, and so forth. The society and the university presidents need to consider all these issues.



Saying all that, the project on the transition of the library is equally important to the project about the future of the library. And for the people in the library the transition project is not only more important, but also life-building. 



Just a few thoughts.



Best wishes,



Lubomir







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