Podcast

Episode 315: Future of Libraries

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Introduction

Welcome back to Season Three of Linking Our Libraries, for this, our final episode this season! We are Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we are here to share information with all types of libraries, archives, and other nonprofits working to build their skills. This season, we are working on building a toolbox of leadership skills and ideas. By the end of this season, you will have fifteen specific skills that will make you a stronger leader and manager in your organization.

This week we are looking at the future of libraries!

Joining us is Guest Host Susan Schleper, from CentraCare hospital library in St Cloud.

The Basics

People who think of libraries are repositories for dusty books, or as places where we read books to tiny kids – or sit around and read books ourselves all day – are incredibly behind the times on libraries and their work today.

Where are we going in the future? It is impossible to say for sure, but all signs point to increased service work with the communities libraries serve – students, parents, senior citizens, lawyers, college alumni, tiny kids, and literally everyone else. Everyone is served by libraries, multiple libraries at that, and that service is only going to increase. We are a Multitype library system, which means our members are public libraries, schools, colleges, law libraries, hospital libraries, history archives, rehab centers – any organization with a library. This gives us perspective on the work libraries are doing across the board, and the ways libraries are able to serve their communities.

The American Library Association, with funding from IMLS, has started The Center for the Future of Libraries. They work to:

  • Identify emerging trends relevant to libraries and the communities they serve
  • Promote futuring and innovation techniques to help librarians and library professionals shape their future
  • Build connections with experts and innovative thinkers to help libraries address emerging issues

“The Center for the Future of Libraries works to identify trends relevant to libraries and librarianship. This collection is available to help libraries and librarians understand how trends are developing and why they matter. Each trend is updated as new reports and articles are made available. New trends will be added as they are developed.”

The trends they have identified as important are:

One important trend in libraries is the idea of connection. Libraries are focusing on connecting users to information, and also building the skills of the user to evaluate and use that information for their own needs. In academic libraries, for example, many connected programs and departments are moving into the library; this allows patrons (students, faculty, staff, alums) to connect not only with our resources but then to use that information to connect it across a wider range of services that meet their needs.

In an article by Bryan Irwin, he discusses libraries evolving into a third generation of use. The first was the olden days, when librarians were the crabby, shushing guardians of books that we reluctantly let patrons touch. The second generation was the introduction of technology to our services. “The third generation moves beyond this infatuation with technology and collaboration. Instead, the focus is shifting towards engagement—engagement with information (in its many forms) and engagement with one another. Increasingly, schools are integrating the spirit of the athenaeum, a place to model and coach the pursuit of learning, so that students enter the working world with an orientation toward collaborative learning and a confidence in their own ability to learn. These skills are built through both team-oriented learning and self-guided research and discovery. The third generation library has become, in short, the place to learn how to learn.”

“The third generation library is built around models of lifelong learning and oriented around interactions between learners—with librarians playing an essential role in guiding learners through the practice of uncovering information to further their own learning.”

In 2016, the Knight Foundation sponsored a contest for libraries to win a share of $1.6 million to develop their project to answer the question: How might libraries serve 21st century information needs? “The challenge generated more than 600 proposals. The 14 winners were a mix of libraries, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, small for-profit startups and museums.”

The winning projects included:

None of these are our traditional services of books and computers; all are projects libraries are using to help people connect with, evaluate, and use information in ways that are important to them. Information is not confined to anyone format – it is everywhere. Libraries will be increasingly important in helping people to achieve information literacy skills so important in any use of information today.

MIT set up an intuitional task force, to design goals for the future of their libraries. “The Ad Hoc Task Force on the Future of Libraries was charged with developing a vision of how the MIT Libraries ought to evolve to best advance the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge, not only to support MIT’s mission but also to position the Institute as a leader in the reinvention of research libraries.” Their vision for libraries included four pillars:

  • an expansive definition of the communities they serve and the relationships and partnerships they encompass,
  • a commitment to radically enhancing the discovery, access, and use of information,
  • a responsibility for leadership in the long-term stewardship and sustainability of the scholarly record, and
  • a new initiative to convene interdisciplinary research and development in information science and scholarly communication.

While the libraries at MIT are scholarly and academic in focus, these four pillars can apply to any type of library and information organization. As we move toward the future of excellent library service we need to focus on our communities – defining them, identifying their needs, and helping to connect them to information as we assist them in finding and using the best quality and format of information.

At the heart of our profession, what we do has not changed, and will never change. We are here to serve our communities, and to help them with their information needs. What that means in practice has evolved, and will continue to evolve right along the needs of society.

This is our final show of Season Three! Tune in next Thursday to our book group podcast: Reading in Libraries for Season Two. We’ll be back with Season Four of Linking Our Libraries Aug 30, and talking about 15 competencies for successful library managers.