10 years tops
The library as an open-to-all community hub is the present and it’s the future.
Books will be around but they’ll no longer be the only format. Prior to 1978, there was a clear distinction at Mosman Library between books of ‘literary or educational value’ and books for entertainment. The former were free to borrow and everything else cost threepence. These days YouTube and blogs carry the stigma of populist, lesser value content. The library of the near future will offer these and other digital works (curated, and presented alongside ‘authoritative’ works) via fast, unfiltered web access across a variety of devices and viewing zones.
Libraries may not be able to freely loan electronic editions the way they do books; maybe they’ll be affiliates of Google or Apple’s global bookstore, taking a cut along the way. There’ll still be a need for collection development and readers advisory because recommendation engines work best over large communities and yours will have quirks and eccentricities that the librarians will better understand and indulge.
People will be consuming all sorts of media but the library will also be a place for them to create. The kids have had craft sessions for years. Now all ages will get hands-on in the library’s recording studios, editing suites and photo booths. Facilities for broadband video conferencing and digital workshops will be provided, along with a coworking area for those who choose not to commute because their employer is on another continent or public transport and roads are still not fixed.
Librarians will help build custom web-based tools to question global data sets (who uses slang like “bruh” and where?) or deliver answers not once but repeatedly over time (monitoring systems). Librarians will work with digital volunteers (some residents, some not) to collect and create unique local content. The library will index online conversation and sentiment for elected bodies, and support citizens using government data. The library will be the natural place to store and share community expertise.
The infrastructure or platform for the library of the future exists already. It’s the internet, and libraries will prioritise participation (and spending) in systems that support open standards and open data. The world wide web is the embodiment of the Enlightenment ideal of the library (source of all knowledge, open and free to all).
This vision is not visionary; 10 years tops.
