What is the library of our future? After reading this week's articles and looking at others' comments, I would answer broadly: a community gathering place that offers access and education. Looking back at that statement, I would say that's not much different from the library of today. I think what will be different and change most with time is "access."
In Seth Godin's article, I was struck by his comment that "the next library is a place, still. A place where people come together to do co-working and coordinate and invent projects worth working on together." That's not our "next" library, that's our "now" library. Our library is very much "a place" in our community. It is the place where people gather. It is where people come to work and work together. We see it every day. One of the most frequently asked questions at our reference desk is, "Where can we sit to work together?" Granted there aren't many other choices in our community for such a place. The local YMCA requires a membership to get beyond the front lobby and the mall has drastically reduced its indoor space in favor of sidewalk and courtyard shops. But, we know people are here because we offer more than "a place."
We offer access, and we have to continue to offer access to keep people coming here. I don't know what techonologies will most affect us in the future, but I know that we need to continually listen to what our patrons are asking for. If they don't find it with us, they will move on. We have WiFi in our building. We have the capability for patrons to print from anywhere to our library. Both bring smiles and a "Wow!" from our patrons. We need to continue to look for what will get us a "Wow!"
Libraries have always been a place of learning. They will continue to be so, but the learning will take place in less traditional forms. Pouring over reference books has already been replaced by database searching and Internet surfing. We now offer 24/7 reference assistance and Universal Class for learning anytime, anywhere. We need to continue to be open to new ways of offering our traditional services.
Finally, we should be lifelong learners ourselves. It's part of our job to understand and try new technologies as they present themselves because we know our patrons will already be ahead of us. Any service we can provide that will make things easier and be a time-saver for our patrons will be embraced -- and this will make the library a more valued member of the community. I'm a firm believer in "Why not? Let's give it a try and see what happens." Luckily for us, all of the changes we will need to make won't happen in one day. As Abraham Lincoln said, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
Thank you, Polly, for putting this class together! It has been a great learning experience!
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