All my students out there among My Beloved Audience, listen up:
Some libraries are closing due to lack of funding. It’s happening slowly now, with a few cases in California and Texas, but I predict that, unless something changes,
wait… “unless WE change SOMETHING”… no passive language here…
it will continue to happen. Different types of libraries will need to take on new roles to survive…
This from a recent post on Scott Nicholson’s blog.
Can you tell that Scott & I have worked together for a while now & have discussed the future of libraries once or twice? Though usually my language is somewhat coarser, & I think I probably use the phrase “getting spanked” more frequently (as in, “libraries are…”).
Scott outlines “three things that libraries should focus on now to survive”:
- Quality Filtering
- Local Relevancy
- Human Intermediation
Anyway, all my students, go read Scott’s post. And think about your answer to the question Scott poses: “what can libraries do to survive?” Like I said in 235 the other day, a bunch of smart people in a room together can make changes happen. You’re all smart people. Ok, so the room here is virtual. But still.