Library 2020: today's leading visionaries describe tomorrow's library

169 Pages·2013·3.327 MB·English

by  Janes, Joseph(Editor)

Library 2020
Today’s Leading Visionaries
Describe Tomorrow’s Library
Edited by Joseph Janes
THESCARECROWPRESS,INC.
Lanham•Toronto•Plymouth,UK
2013
PublishedbyScarecrowPress,Inc.
AwhollyownedsubsidiaryofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
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EstoverRoad,PlymouthPL67PY,UnitedKingdom
Copyright©2013byJosephJanes
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Library2020:today'sleadingvisionariesdescribetomorrow'slibrary/editedbyJosephJanes.pages
cm
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN978-0-8108-8714-5(pbk.:alk.paper)--ISBN978-0-8108-8715-2(ebook)1.Libraryscience-
-Forecasting.2.Libraries--Forecasting.3.Libraries--Aimsandobjectives.4.Libraries--Information
technology.5.LibrariesandtheInternet.6.Librariesandsociety.I.Janes,Joseph,editorofcompila-
tion.
Z665.L5872013
020--dc23
2013009872
ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Introduction v
JosephJanes
I:Stuff 1
1 TheAnnoyedLibrarian 3
2 KristinFontichiaro 7
3 ElisabethA.Jones 15
4 CliffordA.Lynch 25
II:People 33
5 SarahHoughton 35
6 StephenAbram 41
7 CourtneyGreene 49
8 MarieL.Radford 55
9 JamesW.Rosenzweig 63
III:Community 69
10 MichaelCrandall 71
11 MollyRaphael 77
12 LynnSilipigniConnaway 83
13 MarcellusTurner 89
14 RuthFaklis 95
15 SusanHildreth 99
iii
iv Contents
IV:Place 105
16 StaceyA.AldrichandJarridP.Keller 107
17 JohnDove 111
18 BillPtacek 117
19 LorieneRoy 121
V:LeadershipandVision 127
20 JosieBarnesParker 129
21 MaryAnnMavrinac 133
22 PeterMorville 141
23 DanielChudnov 145
VI:MyTurn 151
24 JosephJanes 153
AbouttheEditor 161
Introduction
Joseph Janes
Welcome to 2020. We know a few things about this year; there will almost
certainly be a presidential election, heaven help us, which means the cam-
paigningshouldstartaboutthetimethisbookispublished.Therewillalsobe
anOlympicGames,aleapyear,and,ifWikipediaistobebelieved,theGiant
Magellan Telescope will be completed, the Russian Space Agency will be
mining helium from the moon, and the California High-Speed Rail system
willbefinished.WhetherWikipediawillstillbearound,theydon’tsay.
Why 2020 for a book of future visions of libraries? Why not? It’s far
enoughoutthatsomeexcitingthingsmightwellhavehappenedbutnotsofar
out as to haveto resort to shiny-jump suitandhovercar predictions leftover
from 1965 about 2000. It seemed a goodly amount of lead time for an
esteemedandvariedgroupofthinkersanddoersanddreamersandscreamers
toponderfuturesofallsorts.
And that’s precisely what we have here. I solicited participation from a
varietyoffolks,mostlyfriendsaswellassomepeopleIadmireagreatdeal,
andaskedthemtofillintheblank:“Thelibraryin2020willbe_________.”
Here’stherestofwhatIasked:
Youcangoonfromthere.Youcoulddiscussaspecificlibrary(oneyouwork
in, use, know, etc., or not), a kind of library, libraries in general, the way
professionalsorclientelethinkaboutthem,orsomethingevenmoreinterest-
ing.Bebold,beinspirational,behopeful,betrue,beprovocative,berealistic,
bedepressing,belight-hearted,bethoughtful,befun...beyourself,andfor
heaven’ssake,don’tbeboring!
What I have in mind is a collection of short pieces—between 1,500 and
2,500words,maybe4–7pageseach,fromawiderangeofvoicesfromwithin
thelibraryfieldandbeyond,whichIhopewilladdrichnessandtexturetothe
discussionandbringperspectiveswedon’talwayshear.
v
vi Introduction
Missionaccomplished,inspades.Whatyouwillfindhererunsthegamuton
lotsofdimensions,utopiastodystopias,specificstobroadoverviews,touch-
ingonalargenumberofissues,settings,challenges,successes,andpotential
pitfalls.Someofthesewillmakeyouhappy,somewillmakeyoumad,afew
might depress you, and all of them, in one way or another, has the potential
to makeyouthink,or rethink,or question, or imagine whatmight be, which
isexactlywhatIhadinmind.
Oncetheystartedtocomein,Irealizedthatmyworkwasjustbeginning,
since there’s no obvious order in which to present these; in reading through
them, though, I began to see patterns—you will likely, of course, see oth-
ers—thatechoideasI’vehadformanyyearsaboutthenatureoflibrariesand
what they do and are. Hence, you find here very broad groupings about
“stuff,” “people,” “community,” “place,” and “leadership and vision.” I’ve
long maintained that these are the essential and basic building blocks of
libraries,andloandbehold,heretheyareagain.Ihopenoneofmycontribu-
tors mindstheenvironsI’vesituatedthem in,andiftheneighborsplaytheir
music too loud, just let me know. And yet, within those categories, there’s
tremendous variety and individuality; bear in mind while reading, though,
thatthosegroupingsareentirelymine.
Andthen,naturally,Igetthelastword.Or,morecorrectly,thechanceto
spin a few ideas of my own. I didn’t try to summarize or comment on
anybodyelse’swork;Idon’tknowanybetterthananybodyelse,thoughIdo
thinkIhaveafewnotionstoofferforyourconsideration.
In asense, youcouldthink of these as messages in abottle,sentforward
into an uncertain future that we are all part of creating every day. Writing a
bookaboutthefutureisafool’serrand,ofcourse;ifyou’reright,thenitwas
all too obvious, and if you’re wrong, well, then, ha ha ha on you. Lots of
peoplealsosaythey’drathercreatethefuturethanpredictit,whichIsupport
entirely, and as you’ll notice, many of the people you hear from here are
doing precisely that. It’s nonetheless worthwhile, particularly at moments
whenitallseemsupintheair,totakeasteportwobackandfixyoureyeson
thehorizonandseewhatyousee.Nobodyknowshowmuchofthefollowing
will, or even should, come true, but I’m optimistic enough to believe that
when we get to 2020—sooner than some of us might like to think—more
peoplewillbeponderingwherelibrariesgofromthere,andonandon.
Ofcourse,Iwanttoexpressmygratitudetoeverybodywhotookthetime
andenergytospinthesefuturesandsharethemwiththewiderworld.Ivery
muchappreciateyourparticipation,andIoweyoualladrink.Specialthanks
go to my tireless and always-supportive publisher, Charles Harmon, who,
onceagainnudgedandproddedmemostelegantlyandgentlytowardbring-
ing this to fruition. And, as ever, to my beloved husband Terry, who makes
everythinginmylifemuchmoreinteresting.
I
Stuff