THE FUTURE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIES (INCLUDING THE UC SAN DIEGO LIBRARIES)

UCSD LIBRARIES MANAGEMENT GROUP18 NOVEMBER 2009

Brian E. C. SchottlaenderThe Audrey Geisel University Librarian

OVERVIEW

• Hybrid Libraries• What’s the Same• What’s Different

– Users– Content– Tools and Systems– Services– Space

• What’s Coming

TODAY’S ACADEMIC LIBRARY IS STILL A HYBRID

FROM “BRICKS AND MORTAR” . . .

INFORMATION IS PAPER-BASED

. . . TO . . .

INFORMATION IS PAPER-BASED

INFORMATION IS DIGITAL

. . . “CLICKS AND MORTAR”

PAPER-BASED INFORMATION

DIGITAL INFORMATION

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME

• Increased information output, generally • Increased publishing output,

specifically • Increased costs for publishing output

• Increased demand for services

• Increased expenditures

• Funding pressures• Staffing pressures • Space pressures

. . . “part of an uneven and protracted transition to a future that is increasingly

dominated by the fast pace of change . . . The postmodern librarian faces distinctions

between the world of print and the postmodern digital world. These distinctions involve resources, services, facilities, patrons, and the human

resources and skills associated with the profession of librarianship.”

— Peter Young

LIBRARIES ARE . . .

SO WHAT’S CHANGING?

• Users

• Content

• Tools & Systems

• Services

• Space

USERS: WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS?

• “Millennials are more connected than any previous generation. They grew up with mobile, easily accessible information that is available 24/7.”

— Moving Ahead 2.7 (July 2007)

• “Many Net Gen students think of their mobile devices as more than efficient or convenient pieces of hardware; they view the devices as integral to their daily lives.”

— Joan Lippincott. “Mobile Technologies, Mobile Users.” ARL 261 (December 2008)

• “ . . . there is a new focus on teamwork; students prefer working together rather than alone. This is reflected both in leisure activities, such as sports, as well as in the classroom where there is a new emphasis on group learning.”

— Susan Gardner & Susanna Eng. “What Students Want.” portal 5.3 (2005)

• “Millennials multitask, and they do it well. This is the generation most likely to be sat in front of the television while listening to their iPod, texting their friends and surfing the Internet.”

— Helen Leggatt. “Millennials: Marketing to a New Generation.” BizReport (September 18, 2008)

• “Customisation [sic], or customer co-creation, is especially important to millennials, according to executives. Nearly 40% of those surveyed believe that companies should allow customers greater choice in designing or tailoring their products, with 32% noting that companies should solicit direct input from millennials in the product creation process.”

— “Maturing with the Millennials: A Report from The Economist Intelligence Unit.” (2008)

• “They are unabashedly self-confident.”— William Pisano. “A Millennial Dilemma.” ere.net (April 23,

2008)

USERS: WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS?

• “Millennials are more connected than any previous generation. They grew up with mobile, easily accessible information that is available 24/7.”

— Moving Ahead 2.7 (July 2007)

• “Many Net Gen students think of their mobile devices as more than efficient or convenient pieces of hardware; they view the devices as integral to their daily lives.”

— Joan Lippincott. “Mobile Technologies, Mobile Users.” ARL 261 (December 2008)

• “ . . . there is a new focus on teamwork; students prefer working together rather than alone. This is reflected both in leisure activities, such as sports, as well as in the classroom where there is a new emphasis on group learning.”

— Susan Gardner & Susanna Eng. “What Students Want.” portal 5.3 (2005)

• “Millennials multitask, and they do it well. This is the generation most likely to be sat in front of the television while listening to their iPod, texting their friends and surfing the Internet.”

— Helen Leggatt. “Millennials: Marketing to a New Generation.” BizReport (September

18, 2008)

• “Customisation [sic], or customer co-creation, is especially important to millennials, according to executives. Nearly 40% of those surveyed believe that companies should allow customers greater choice in designing or tailoring their products, with 32% noting that companies should solicit direct input from millennials in the product creation process.”

— “Maturing with the Millennials: A Report from The Economist Intelligence Unit.” (2008)

• “They are unabashedly self-confident.”— William Pisano. “A Millennial Dilemma.” ere.net (April 23, 2008)

USERS

FROM TO

CONTENT

FROM

• Linear

• Text-oriented

• Static

• Invisible

• Cooperative

• Owned/Licensed

TO

• Linked

• Graphic/Multimedia

• Interactive and

Mobile

• Visible

• Collective

• Owned/Licensed/Open

CONTENT

FROM TO

TOOLS & SYSTEMS

FROM

• Pull

• Query-based

• Highly structured

• Complex

• Intermediated

• Generic

TO

• Push

• Interactive

• Fluid

• Simple

• Disintermediated

• Individualized

TOOLS & SYSTEMS

FROM TO

SERVICES

FROM

• Library-focused

• Expert

• In-person

• Formal

• Textual

TO

• User-focused

• Trainer/Learner

• Mobile

• Informal

• Visual

SERVICES

FROM TO

SPACE

FROM

• Resources-based

• Individual

• Access

• Formal

• Fixed

TO

• People-based

• Group

• Access &

Production

• Relaxed

• Flexible

SPACE

FROM TO

FORECAST: CLOUDY

Mass digitization e-Everything Personalization

Space pressures Budget pressures

Services Learning Teaching

Research Big Science Open access Data

G o o g l eCollaboration Competition

Access Integration Interoperation

Information Collections Control systems

Fundraising Stewardship Community

WHAT’S COMING

• Less money

• Fewer [branch] libraries

• Fewer staff

• Less heavily staffed libraries

• Smaller libraries*

• Smaller locally-held, published print collections*

*With a few notable exceptions

WHAT’S COMING

• Centralized and/or Federated published print collections

• Emphasis on primary [unpublished] research materials, including primary research data

• Emphasis on full life-cycle resource management

• Collective action:– Collections management– Collections storage

• New mandates

• Increased interdependence

“There are diverse and unmet needs . . .

… now arising within the academy … To the extent that libraries and their leaders can reposition themselves to serve these evolving needs—which pertain in part to the centralized storage, description, and delivery of academic resources, and in part to the organization and support of scholarly communication within and across higher education institutions—libraries [and academic library staff] will emerge as even more central and vibrant resources for their institutions.”

— “Changing Roles of Academic and Research Libraries”ACRL Tech Summit (November 2006)  

. . . tasks and recurrent challenges will

require

from librarians [and library staff] of the future

such characteristics as flexibility,

adaptability to ever-changing environments,

multi-disciplined and multi-functional skills,

[and] team-working skills . . .”

 — Blazej Feret and Marzena

Marcinek

“NEW [AND] DIFFERENT . . .

QUESTIONS?