Reading Report 3: "The Future of Libraries"

http://www.futuristspeaker.com/2006/11/the-future-of-libraries/

Throughout history, many significant documents have been preserved thanks to libraries, including the many works of Leonardo da Vinci which were tragically passed from place to place over the years. Andrew Carnage also played an important role in the shaping of libraries because of his funding the building of 2,509 libraries, 1,689 of which were built in the US. Libraries were “centers of information” and played a role in preserving and storing manuscripts, art, and other important documents. The role of libraries, however, is changing, and these changes ca be categorized into 10 trends.

The first trend talks about how growing technologies and communication systems are changing the way people access information. The second looks at how the technologies we use today, will one day be replaced with better ways of storing and receiving data. The Third examines how we as a society have not yet discovered an “ultimate way to minimize a “small storage”, creating room for growth. The fourth talks about how the technology and programs we use to actually search for information will become increasingly more advanced and difficult. The fifth examines how libraries will need to be able to keep up with its patrons in providing resources or “needs” as quickly and they are appearing. The sixth trend talks about technologies moving towards a verbal command based society, removing the need for keyboards or other manual input devices, while the seventh examines the growing need for information world wide. The eighth examines how the expansion of global systems broadens the horizons for information access. The ninth examines how society is transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy, while the tenths talks about the change of libraries from centers of learning to centers of cultures.