This is a preview of Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries, edited by Peter Hernon and Jospeh R Matthews. Academic and public libraries are much different today than they were even 15 years ago. And with even bigger changes on the horizon, what lies in store? In this systematic attempt to speak to academic and public librarians about the future of library services, Hernon and Matthews invite a raft of contributors to step back and envision the type of future library that will generate excitement and enthusiasm among users and stakeholders. Anyone interested in the future of libraries, especially library managers, will be engaged and stimulated as the contributors: Examine the current state of the library, summarizing existing literature on the topic to sketch in historical background; Project into the future, using SWOT analysis, environmental scans, and other techniques to posit how library infrastructure (such as staff, collections, technology, and facilities) can adapt in the decades ahead; Construct potential scenarios that library leaders can use to forge paths for their own institutions. The collection of knowledge and practical wisdom in this book will help academic and public libraries find ways to honour their missions while planning for the broader institutional changes already underway. Readership: Library managers, academic and public librarians, LIS students and academics and anyone interested in the future of libraries. April 2013; 224pp; paperback; 978-1-85604-948-1; £49.95 http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=9481

1. REFLECTING ON THEE
FUTUREOF ACADEMIC AND
PUBLIC LIBRARIES

2. Many libraries face serious problems
stemming from the economic
recession of 2009-2009 and its
aftermath, as well as from the ever-
changing information-seeking
behaviour of their customers and the
presence of information technologies
that affect that behaviour. In some
instances, fiscal problems predate
the recession.

3. At the same time, there is an
increased expectation that libraries
demonstrate accountability,
collaborate more with stakeholders
and other libraries, and, in some
instances, generate alternative
sources of revenue.

4. How should
libraries respond to
such pressures?

5. Is it enough to
continue to do the
same things or, at
most, incremental
changes?

6. NO!

7. On the contrary, the times call for
dramatic transformational change
and the creation of a vision of the
future that excites staff and
stakeholders.

8. The mention of change
management and the future of
public, academic, or any other
type of library suggests someone
staring into a crystal ball or trying
to predict the future.

9. Source: flickr cc image by ChazWags

10. The emerging vision, as commonly
portrayed in the literature on scenario
development, might assume
hypothetical facts and extend the
projection for thirty to fifty years, but
without producing anything relevant
to help libraries anticipate, prepare
for, and manage change.

11. Facet Publishing’s latest book,
Reflecting on the Future of Academic
and Public Libraries, does not offer
predictions; rather it offers
portrayals of the future through
shorter-range scenarios, stories
projected a maximum of fifteen
years ahead.

12. These scenarios contain elements or
threads grounded in the present that
libraries or other organizations can
use as they piece together a story
that is relevant to local
circumstances and can be linked to
strategic planning and change
management.

13. The goal is to help libraries produce a
story that they can use to explore
surprises and discontinuities in the
planning process and to obtain staff
and stakeholder buy-in to a vision
that enables everyone to
concentrate on the bigger picture.

14. The goal is to help libraries produce a
story that they can use to explore
surprises and discontinuities in the
planning process and to obtain staff
and stakeholder buy-in to a vision
that enables everyone to
concentrate on the bigger picture.

15. The chapters in the book are:
1. Change - major to minor
2. Building a path to the future
3. Transforming the future
4. Related literature
5. Future views of academic libraries
6. Perspective on trends and
scenarios: academic libraries
continues on the next slide...

16. 7. Future views of public libraries
8. Perspectives on trends and
scenarios: public libraries
9. Preparing for the future: some final
thoughts.

17. The scenarios presented in the book
do not represent an absolute vision;
rather, readers can pick and choose
among elements in different
scenarios and add their own
elements.

18. The scenarios also apply to the
broader organization, and such
scenarios merit review as library
leaders settle on the preferred
future.

19. The goals of the book are to identify
relevant literature and possible
scenarios and to get readers to think
about the future and what the
library infrastructure (staff,
collections, technology, and
facilities) will resemble.

20. Unlike other works, Reflecting on the
Future of Academic and Public
Libraries, offers scenarios for both
academic and public libraries at a
time when many library managers
may be consumed by the present
and how to cope with scarce or
reduced resources.

21. Peter Hernon and Joseph R
Matthews, the editors of the book,
believe that the present serves as an
opportunity to create a new and
positive future, as some libraries are
doing.

22. After all, are there not dangers in
thinking solely in terms of the
present?

23. Reflecting on the Future of
Academic and Public Libraries
separates scenarios from
scenario planning.

24. This allows librarians to take any of
the scenarios and apply scenario
planning to explore a preferred
future in more detail, factoring in
local circumstances.

25. Scenarios are intended to be used as a
tool for leaders to use to generate
discussion within the organization and
with stakeholders as they prepare for a
transformation that requires forming
new partnerships, collaborating,
staking out new services roles, and
ensuring the workforce has the
required skills, abilities and knowledge
to cope with the change.

26. As Joan Giesecke explains, “Libraries
have a unique opportunity to begin to
change how they interact with others in
the higher education system because
they are campus-wide entities that work
with both the business and academic
sides of the institution. Libraries can take
a leadership role in bringing together
different groups to explore possible
partnerships.”

27. Joan’s comments could apply to public
libraries and to the achievement of
any transformational vision that
require relationship building to get
others to accept, shape, and help to
carry it out.

28. Joan’s comments could apply to public
libraries and to the achievement of
any transformational vision that
require relationship building to get
others to accept, shape, and help to
carry it out.

29. Reflecting on the Future of Academic
and Public Libraries alerts those who
are preparing to enter the professional
workforce of academic and public
libraries about how libraries are
changing, what they might look like,
and the types of skills they will need to
prosper in the new setting.

30. Through their many years of teaching
in schools of library and information
science, the editors have found that
many students have impressions of
library work that do not match reality
or take into account the forces of
dramatic change.

31. Library directors may be flattening
the organizational structure, merging
and eliminating departments, starting
new services, and participating more
broadly within their communities.

32. The editors cite key literature to
reflect the changes environment, and
the scenarios presented in the book
have been reviewed by several
influential library directors.

33. The book is also intended for
managerial leaders and staff of
academic and public libraries as
they move beyond the issues of the
moment to piece together their
vision of the library of the future.

34. The audience extends to include
stakeholders with whom library
managerial leaders deal, such as
members of governing boards.

35. None of these actors can afford
to succumb to the idea that
there is no longer any need for a
library or that all resources are
available on the internet.

36. Instead, they need to invest more
extensively in advocacy as they
stake out a future that can be
realistically achieved - and as they
convert library spaces to new
service roles.

37. Instead, they need to invest more
extensively in advocacy as they
stake out a future that can be
realistically achieved - and as they
convert library spaces to new
service roles.

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