While the success of J.K. Rowling and Janet Evanovich show us that reading as a pleasurable pastime is not obsolete, the winds of change are in the air. The library as a research institution needs to keep one eye on business and the other on its future.
As the Web changes the nature of research, libraries need to accomodate customer needs by spotting trends and planning for the user, (not the institution), says Michael Stephens. We need to use "lightweight [internet] services, which can be "remixed" by our customers, says Chip Nilges, and allow others to contribute their expertise to the cooperative.
Questions: Does this mean that our middle-school patrons will be adding their expertise and remixing our data in their research papers, or is this paper discussing academic libraries? What about the library's mission of providing highly accurate information--wouldn't our accuracy be compromised by the collection of user intelligence?
Those of us who are accustomed to the "traditional" library will have some surprises ahead.
While it may be difficult to envision the kind of library the is being discussed by the OCLC article, one thing is for sure....it is an interesting time to be involved in library work! I can't wait to see what the future will hold.
Jeanie
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