By: Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian

The Future of the

Library

“Libraries will only survive if the

communities they serve want and

need them to.”

The Library of the Present

Budget decline

Competition for existing dollars

From authoritative to “good enough” info

Rise of ebooks

Changing notion of ownership

Helping to close the digital and economic divides

Commitment to privacy and free speech

Tough Questions

What is the future of knowledge?

How will we access information?

What is the future of learning spaces?

What is the future of attention?

What’s the franchise?

What services are libraries uniquely positioned to

provide that other organizations are not?

Where does local fit in?

“Uncertainty and the Future of Libraries”, Computers in Libraries 33:10 (Dec. 2013, pg 4)

“The Future of Libraries: Seven Questions Librarians Need to Answer”, Lee Rainie’s presentation at the Texas Library Association’s

2014 Annual Conference: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/10/the-future-of-libraries/

Possible Future: No Books

“Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll

wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love

you back.” - John Green, An Abundance of Katherines

Possible Future: Tablet Computing

“Future is mobile computing – smartphones and tablets are just

elements of it. The industry is on the verge of a whole new

paradigm.” – Thorsten Heins, former CEO BlackBerry Ltd.

Possible Future: Librarians

“I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living

librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never

knew they saved. ” – Barbara Kingsolver

Possible Future: Maker Spaces

“I think we only burned like, one kid…” – Jim R

“If you wanna do goofy s***, use the Bosch table saw.” – Matt N

“It’s a Smallognifyer” – Adam C

Possible Future: Community Spaces

“One can acquire everything in solitude except character.”

-Stendahl