Top Trends Affecting Libraries
In the report The Future of Libraries: Beginning the Great Transformation, the DaVinci Institute, a nonprofit futurist think tank, has put together 10 key trends that are affecting the development of the next generation library. They are:
- Time compression is changing the lifestyle of library users
- Libraries are transitioning from a center of information to a center of culture
- We are transitioning from a product-based to an experience-based economy
- The stage is being set for a new era of global systems
- The demand for global information is growing exponentially
- Over time, we will be transitioning to a verbal society
- Search technology will become increasingly more complicated
- We haven't yet reached the ultimate small particle for storage, but will soon
- All technology ends and all technologies commonly used today will be replaced by something new
- Communication systems are continually changing the way people access information
Their recommendations:
- Evaluate the library experience
- Preserve the memories of your own communities
- Embrace new information technologies
- Experiment with creative spaces so the future role of the library can define itself
(Via OCLC Abstracts)
Posted by Tom on November 07, 2005
