Libraries of the future

Monday, May 4th 2009 by Wes FryercloseAuthor: Wes Fryer Name: Wes Fryer
Email: wes@isteconnects.org
Site: http://www.speedofcreativity.org
About: Wesley is an international learning consultant, author, digital storyteller, educator and catalyst for educational reform focused on blended learning, differentiated instruction, and creative engagement. His bio is available on www.wesfryer.com/bio and complete vitae on www.wesfryer.com/vitae.See Authors Posts (74)

Information is changing along with the ways we access it during our our everyday lives, and these changes have big implications for libraries as we’ve traditionally known them. The video “Mindspot the Movie: The Library as a Universe” provides a glimpse into a Danish library making big shifts in the ways professional librarians think about the “space” of the library and the role of library constituents in shaping the form and activities of the library.

How is your library and libraries in your area changing the ways library patrons are served? Is your library making strong efforts to reach out with digital resources? Is your library utilizing the input of young people in the way participants in the MindSpot project are, to insure new initiatives are well received by younger generations?

In this video, one of the young people talks about the importance of “the library coming to us” rather than assuming all patrons can or will come to the library. In the not too distant past, educational researchers HAD to physically come to a library to conduct research. There was not another option. Today, however, access to Internet resources is changing the dynamics of research dramatically. Librarians are, in many cases, serving a key role in communities as catalysts for change in our attention economy. Dr. Joyce Valenza’s blog for School Library Journal, “Never Ending Search,” is one of my favorite places to read new ideas about innovative libraries and librarians. (Joyce is @joycevalenza on Twitter.) Doug Johnson is another of my favorite librarian bloggers to read regularly. (Doug is @doug0077 on Twitter.) Both of these librarian-educator leaders exemplify the importance of embracing and utilizing new digital tools for learning and helping others learn, both inside and outside the “traditional” library.

Despite the wealth of available digital resources, many people still have a strong need and desire to connect with others in face-to-face contexts. This is one of the reasons brick-and-mortar libraries and schools are not going to go away entirely in the decades to come.

Hat tip to Jenny Luca, Leeanne Windsor and Kim Cofino for this video and project link.

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