The Once and Future Library
Did you know that the Libary is predicted to become extinct by 2019? A quick glance at the proposed time-line raises the question of whether or not the author is serious about his predictions or not. See: Cher. See also: A Good Night’s Sleep. However tongue in cheek this time-line may be, it does make me wonder how libraries will continue to adapt and change in the future. What will the Library of the future look like? What roles will Librarians play in this future world? What training and skills will the profession need in order to meet the needs of our future clientele?”
Before envisioning what the Library will look like in the future, we need to first think about what the Library is all about right now. What you think about the Library now will determine how you create or utilize this physical or virtual world place in the future. Your past experiences with Librarians will determine what relevance you think the profession has in the future Library.
What is a Library? Is it a place, a space, or an idea? What words come to mind when you hear the word “Library?” Databases, books, journals, newspapers, warehouse, repository, study hall, Internet, cultural center, meeting place, learning, studying, reading, or the cornerstone of democracy? Why do you use this space or place? How do you think the Library meets your teaching, research, and scholarship needs?
Is a Library about finding, searching, and investigating? Is it about a process, or a result? Is a library about education, teaching, or learning?
Is the Library about people or stuff? What about the people who work in Libraries? What words come to mind when you think about Librarians? Are they guides, Sherpas, helpers, bun wearing book lovers, professionals, colleagues, scholars, experts, or searchers?
What do I think? Libraries certainly are about stuff. Libraries collect all sorts of interesting things. But without the people to give the stuff meaning and context, its just a useless pile of data. And by people, I mean both the people who work in the Library and the people who need what the Library has to offer. You can tell when a Library space is more about honoring stuff than helping people. I don’t enjoy visiting those places as much.
I often describe what I do as a Librarian in Agatha Christie terms. We are the recipients of partial clues and facts that must be investigated in order to solve an important mystery. If this sounds far fetched, then you have no experience looking up health care statistics. Talk about looking for needles in haystacks….
In the end, there is a lot about the Library and about Librarians that I think work really well. So, when we talk about reinventing Libraries, I feel both excited about the prospect of participating in the creation of something new, and frustrated when it seems like we are trying to reinvent the wheel. I hardly think the Library will become extinct. But I certainly hope we continue to be people and places where excitement and mystery continue to thrive.
“There can be, and increasingly may be, librarians without libraries (in the sense that they are not based at a single physical institution). But can there be libraries (or even the Universal Virtual Library as some have imagined) without librarians? Or without tangible institutional existence (per the bricks and mortar cliché)? Obviously, many think so. Others, particularly those responsible for institutional budgets, may hope so. We think this is nonsense.” What is a library anymore, anyway? by Michael A. Keller, Victoria A. Reich, and Andrew C. Herkovic
First Monday, volume 8, number 5 (May 2003), URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_5/keller/index.html