Saturday, March 9, 2013

Future of Libraries?

Is the future of libraries in question?  Absolutely! In a world where most students have access to the Internet at their fingertips, the librarian is actually more important than ever  in my humble opinion.  How do our students sort through the sea of information and misinformation? How will they know what is relevant?  Is Google the new librarian? I love Neil Gaiman's quote, "Google can give you a 100,000 answers, but a librarian can give you the right one."  Yes, the role of librarian is changing. Are we ready for the change? We need to be in order to stay relevant. Librarians are curators of information in all formats. As I sit at a local coffee shop and ponder the future, there is a group of students beside me working on an English project. I have to admit I am quite impressed with their intellect and skill. They are using tech tools to create an exciting presentation (Smore, Vocaroo, BigHugeLabs). Places where people can come together and collaborate will always be in demand.  That is what I want the library to be for everyone. The 'go to' place for learning, researching, collaborating, and technology. What excites me about the future is I want to be the person in the middle of it all--challenging, helping, and yes curating the electronic resources to stay relevant.  Are you ready to stay relevant?

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