Future of Libraries..

I haven't had a chance to really look into this book, A Brief History of the Future of Libraries: An Annotated Bibliography by Gregg Sapp, but I thought it was interesting to think about "the future of libraries". Some people have posulated that libraries and/or profession of librarians being "taken over" or replaced by technology. These concerns are also raised by Sapp, the following include:
- libraries becoming increasingly less relevant due to the electronic world
- libraries receiving less fudning and support
-information controlled by a selective population
-librarianship will cease to exist as a profession
-library principles will disappear
(Sapp, p.vi)

Another perspective is that libraries are seen as:
-providing all information needs
-services will be seen as highly valued
-libraries are contested sites for information rights
-recognized as "consummated information professionals in society"
and "libraries will thrive"
(Sapp, p.vii)


Reference:

Sapp, Gregg. (2002). A Brief History of the Future of Libraries: An Annotated Bibliography. London: ScareCrow Press, Inc.