Ramblings, citations and "brainwaves" of a college librarian in Toronto. 475 square feet refers to the size of my home, not the size of my office or library.



ACRL ANNOUNCES THE TOP TEN ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIES


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The ACRL Research Committee developed the top ten assumptions after surveying member leaders and conducting a literature review. A panel representing community and liberal arts colleges, research university libraries, as well as an observer of the higher education environment reacted and commented upon the assumptions at the ACRL National Conference.

1. There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval. [I disagree. The novelty will wear off. The good stuff people want is all under copyright protection.]

2. The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (student and faculty) that they serve. [What does this mean? We need more IT skill sets, and we've been saying that for 10 years now. I don't see "old guard" staff upgrading their IT skills.]

3. Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services. [they want what we can't deliver. Every movie, song, image, text, available for download. Movies and muisc remain off limits.]

4. Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education. [in Canada, it is a barrier to teaching]

5. The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding. [technology needs staffing too, where's the money going to come from when education is already unaffordable for so many?]

6. Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business.
[okay, lets start charging students and faculty for article downloads. 5$ a pop seems reasonable. Vendors are you listening? Credit card scholarship here we come!][retention is more important than graduating quality work]

7. Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers, expecting high quality facilities and services. [this is already a problem with this entitled mindset generation. Just because you pay does not mean you get good grades or pass.]

8. Distance learning will be an increasingly common option in higher education and will co-exist but not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model.[ and it will be taught by temps and students will not have access to brick and mortar libraries]

9. Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow. [until the government realizes they can charge for access]

10. Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.


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