[finders] Library 2020

[finders at findability.org]

June 26, 2013

http://findability.org/archives/000667.php

If you enjoyed reading Inspiration Architecture you should check out the full set of 24 colorful perspectives on the future of libraries in Library 2020.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

The library in 2020 will be just like the library today, except without all the books, music, and movies. -- The Annoyed Librarian

We have an appalling lack of user experience integration among the subscribed resources and web-based services we provide. -- Daniel Chudnov

I predict that individuals will have a new hunger to come together for face-to-face interactions, and libraries are one of the last noncommercial settings where this can happen. -- Kristin Fontichiaro

[In 2020] through hard experience, the public has become appropriately skeptical of having too much confidence in the stewardship commitments of commercial actors. -- Clifford A. Lynch

Something that often is difficult for library and information professionals to comprehend is that the majority of the population does not use libraries to get information. -- Lynn Silipigni Connaway

The real value that many users find in the public library beyond access to information is the assistance from trained professionals who can help guide people through the changing landscape of information access in the digital world. -- Michael Crandall

I say we fight for and maintain our very long-term and hard-won connection to books and what they represent. -- Joseph Janes

We in libraries want geeks with the ethics and values for open information and freedom of access to be the ones in control of the world's data - in other words, us. -- Sarah Houghton

The U.S. public domain is still stuck at 1922, and each new purchase with a major vendor locks each individual purchaser deeper into that vendor's closed ecosystem. There is no cultural willpower to fight this. -- Daniel Chudnov

More open, transparent government at all levels is a requirement in twenty-first century society. The library will play an important role in supporting this transparency by providing free and open access to government information from the local to federal level. -- Susan Hildreth

I might go so far as to say (and I do not reference this lightly) that libraries are "of the people, by the people, for the people," and as such, I, for one, hope that they "shall not perish from the earth." (Lincoln) -- Courtney Greene

We must be willing to lose some of the things we loved most about the libraries we remember fondly if we're going to build libraries that will be truly memorable and valuable to the people we serve in the years ahead. -- James Rosenzweig

The library in 2020 will offer a culture of generosity. -- Josie Barnes Parker

Librarianship is the most important profession. -- Joseph Janes

These quotes offer but a glimpse into this wonderfully diverse collection. So, go ahead, buy the book, or even better, borrow it from your local library.