Presenters: Lori A. Goetsch, Dr. Dennis Trinkle, William Weare, Ryan Johnson

This presentation took a more quantitative what’s-going-on-now approach.  Perhaps because of this, it seemed much more academic, measured, dare-I-say-inertial feel.  It was also really hard to follow, as there were almost no slides and every speaker spoke incredibly incredibly fast.  If my notes are sparse, that’s why.  I was not impressed.

Ryan’s introduction:

Trends were gathered from a Literature review and Membership survey and are listed in more detail here: http://crln.acrl.org/content/71/6/286.short

  • Inability to maintain comprehensive collections financially
  • Pressures on collections, services, and staff
  • Changes in higher education require having a broader skill-set
  • Demands for accountability and assessment are on the increase
  • Digitization of unique collections will grow as libraries seek to set themselves apart
  • Explosive growth of mobile devices and applications
  • Increased collaboration needs will expand the role of the library
  • Libraries will continue to lead efforts to develop scholarly communication
  • Technology is going to continue to change, as our services and skills
  • The definition of the library will change as physical space is repurposed and virtual space expands

Lori Goetsch

C&RL published a “top 10 assumptions” list in 2007, which is apparently similar to their trend list.  Digitization featured heavily on both lists, for instance, although both lists approached it in a different way.  Facilities are treated similarly.

That list:

Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians: A report from the ACRL research committeeColl. res. libr. news April 2007 68:240-246

Lori mentioned inter-related trends, such as budget challenges are pretty much ubiquitous.

A report will be available soon: 2010 top ten trends in academic libraries: A review of the current literatureColl. res. libr. news June 2010 71:286-292

“Futures thinking in academic libraries” is another ACRL report that is useful: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/value/futures2025.pdf

Lori mentioned that library service providers (e.g. OCLC) also needed to be looked at for their effects on libraries.  New options for collaborative cataloguing (e.g. skyriver) are emerging as alternatives to OCLC, as well.

Virtual and Physical space are important.  Even though virtual space is small, it provides great opportunity.  Ryan shared this website: http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com/

E is for Explosion – “In case you weren’t feeling it, welcome to the revolution! By the end of 2010, Gen Y members will outnumber Baby Boomers, and 96% of this new generation has already joined a social network, according to author and social media pundit Erik Qualman. Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million users, television took 13 years, the internet just 4 years, the iPod only 3—and what about Facebook? The king of social media added 100 million users in less than 9 months.”

Dr Dennis Trinkle

Is this really a period of trends or is it one of transformation?

Dr. Trinkle suggests five themes to think on:

  • The nature of scholarship is deeply shaped by the tools we use and our environment
  • Information Overload –  How do we manage it?
  • Connection of libraries to work reality – How can we help students prepare for the real world as well as in school?
  • Evolution of faculty itself – Libraries can play a critical role in ensuring consistency and quality.  Is it possible to move away from textbooks by supplementing online resources with library resources?
  • To what extent are we thinking about technology changes that are likely to occur soon?

Dr. Trinkle also talked a lot about Artificial Intelligence, which was a bit baffling–surely that’s not going to happen in the next 10 years.

William Weare:

William, at least, did not speak at a mile a minute…

He says “a trend is something that is cutting edge, and this list is not particularly cutting edge.”

The two items on the list William doesn’t think are trends:

  • budget challenges
  • ?  [I missed his second item, but am guessing it's the "technological changes" one which is too vague for my liking]

Transitions need to be dealt with in a planned manner, not just randomly.