The Future of Libraries: Are we already there ?

Blog entry No. 3

After studying the certificate 4 in Library and Information services for some months now, questions that have constantly popped up have been: What will happen to libraries in the future? How will they change? Will librarians be needed? 
I still feel like I don't have many answers to these questions, and set about to find a blog or interview with real librarians who are witnessing the change in libraries. I found this interview interesting because it starts off with the librarians talking about their own experiences as children visiting libraries, and then talks about the present where they are working in modern and technologically advanced libraries, which are described as  'centerpieces of urban redevelopment', a description which, for me, is accurate for libraries of the future.

In the interview, instead of pondering about how libraries will change in the future, the librarians seem to regard the 'future' as being now, with libraries apparently already being built as environmentally-friendly and sustainable buildings with cafes and even kitchens with chefs in some cases. It seems that the modern libraries being described are continuing the original aim of having a quiet 'space'to learn, but with much more on offer in terms of technology and facilities. Libraries are also described as if they are the epicenter of a place's culture, representing the people that live around it, and the heritage behind it. Another thing that was mentioned, which until now I have never even considered before, is how libraries can help people who are lonely, confused, not of an English speaking background, or simply older and at a loss for what to do next. I found this paragraph particularly relevant to what the purpose of a library should be, and what it should continue to do in the future:

'I think we need to understand that what we do is we connect people and information, and sometimes you're going to be more focusing on connecting information to information so that people can get to it, which is kind of the cataloguing side of it. Sometimes you've going to be focusing more on connecting people to people, which is the peer support that you're talking about, so that they can gain their information. Sometimes it will be the stamp in the book, the people and the information, but I think that it's no different to what we've been teaching for years and years which is you've got to love and know about people, you've got to love and know about information and the cultural history and find new and different ways to put them together.'

After reading this interview, I felt like my questions had been answered a little more. I think libraries are already in the future, or at least half way through, as they are using technologies such as 'e-readers' and are encouraging learning 'online'. I found this interesting also,

"Some libraries in the eastern states and Queensland are actually lending e-books to their users. We're not doing that. We have a single Kindle which is really a 'try before you buy' but also our way of positioning ourself for our community as something that's an asset when you think about e-books rather than something obsolete that you should bypass."

I think it is important to endorse new ways of reading and learning, instead of acting threatened by these new gadgets. Libraries will change, although, I don't think that it will be as harsh a transition that is being predicted, as libraries have already adapted to cater for the wide use of the internet by installing numerous computers. As for librarians themselves, they will always be needed, otherwise, who would 'run' the library? Give order to the information? Just because people are using technology to learn, more so than picking up a physical book, or look up the answer to a question on 'Google', doesn't mean that they have lost their job, rather, just the nature of their job. In the 'future' librarians will still be connecting people to the information they desire, though, it may be on a computer or a combination of both printed and virtual.

Title: The Future of Libraries
Author: from transcript from tv show 'The Book Show', aired wednesday 30th June 2010.
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bookshow/the-future-of-libraries/3032478