NSM Blog: Reflecting on the Future of the Library

What to Withdraw: Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization "analyzes the rationales for retaining some copies of scholarly journals in print format, determining that actual ongoing community needs for print materials...are significant but not unlimited."

The focus here is on scholarly journals with a goal of understanding "which materials are adequately safeguarded across the system [of all research libraries] such that withdrawals can safely proceed at a local level."

A 22 November 2009 article ("Libraries Innovate to Counter Cuts") in the Chronicle of Higher Education explores the ways libraries are seeking innovative ways to address budgetary challenges and keep pace with ongoing evolution of the landscape of scholarly communications.

At Frye 2009, one of the speakers suggested that libraries were leading the way in the transformation of higher education, and that we could expect some lively discussion around the future of the library as a result. Many of the librarians and technologists in the audience where sceptical, but I'm starting to think there may be something to the idea that the discussions about the future of the Library presage discussions to come about the future of the academy.