Fuzzy visions of a collective future
Daniel Lee
As SLA enters its second century as an association, the time for reflection and visions for our collective future has arrived.
When I was asked to put this piece together, I thought it would be easy. I was wrong. I have many ideas about the future of our profession based on my experience as an information professional these past seven years, but many of my ideas are fuzzy and not fully formed. After many hours trying to distill them and trying just to make sense out of most of them for myself, I came up with a simple list of statements and questions. In the end, I had just as many questions as I did answers, which was a surprise to me.
So, in no particular order, here we go:
- What differentiates SLA from all other associations is its diversity (and that's a tremendous strength we have yet to exploit fully).
- The bonds that hold our profession together are weakening at a time when those connections are needed most.
- We must conquer our technophobia. Technology won't stop changing because we want it to.
- As things become more complex, will we try to make things easier for people (i.e., act as facilitator) or will we set ourselves up as go-betweens (i.e, act as interpreter)? Is one better than the other? Will we ever arrive at the day when people won't be able to be their own librarians, much like you can't be your own doctor or lawyer? Will they look to us to make sense of it all, or will they go elsewhere? Is that a day we want to see?
- It's OK when the library isn't a place.
- Where are the models to show, in real and quantifiable measures, the value we provide to our organizations?
- For many of us, our future survival will depend greatly on providing highly customized products and services to small(er) client communities.
- The small and medium sized business sector is one of the largest markets out there, yet it seems to be the least tapped. Why is that? Does the delivery of products and services to this sector hold great promise for the future growth of our profession?
- The embedded librarian model shows incredible promise as our more traditional models crack under pressure.
- What were considered the "basics" for new librarians and information professionals were neatly packaged into a two-year degree. Those "basics" have expanded significantly. The "new" MLIS will be three or four years, minimum.
- The deep Web is still inaccessible to many of us. We need more sophisticated models for access--models that allow for access by smaller user groups for shorter periods of time and less commitment. Pay-as-you-go models are a good start, but what does an even better model look like that works for both the provider and the consumer?
- (OK, this one is just plain crazy; I know, but I can't wait to buy one!) Like the Walkman so will go the iPod, and in its place will be a personal device that amplifies our thoughts so we can control it with our minds. (Trust me on this, it's already being done with software and wires, so it's only a matter of time.) What does the future of finding and information delivery look like when physical input is no longer necessary?
So, there you have it--an attempt at prognostication. A line attributed to Albert Einstein comes to mind: "I never think of the future, it comes soon enough." And I couldn't agree more. Besides, thinking about the future is hard work! I hope my little list gets you thinking and asking even more questions. If it does, then I have accomplished what I set out to do.
One final question.
What would your list be?
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