Imagine The Library Of The Future

In this information age it is widely recognised that, in order to maintain relevance and to gain a competitive edge, libraries and other organisations in the business of information must continuously assess their roles, collections, services and perhaps most importantly, their business practices. Scenarios are a way of predicting and describing a future three to five years away while strongly engaging one’s community in choosing the future which is preferable. The horizon in which assessments about future roles change is growing shorter and shorter. While it is almost clichéd to state that change is the only constant, differing scenarios of what libraries might be allow all of us to contemplate futures we might otherwise not allow. Drawing on extensive experience in libraries in different parts of the globe, the authors provide a rich analysis of planning, managing and implementing change in information organisations through scenario planning. Through extensive practical applications, both actual and theoretical, the authors provide a strong background understanding and direct the reader through a planning process that is both readily applicable and innovative for all information organisations, irrespective of their size or client base. Extensive exploration of what it means to ‘shape our futures’ rather than having our future shaped for us Valuable techniques for understanding futures and creating different scenarios Practical applications are illustrated through examples and real life experience

A trend expert predicts what’s next for fields like education and government while sharing how readers can shape their own futures. Epiphany Z is a dynamic approach to envisioning, comprehending, and ultimately thriving in the radically different futures emerging around us at the speed of light. Distilling decades of research, experience, and proven success in correctly identifying and accurately extrapolating today’s trends and innovations into tomorrow’s realities, futurist Thomas Frey gives you an advance ticket to the most explosive period of change in all of human history. Frey’s unparalleled ability to detect emerging trends from the smallest of clues gives him an edge on other futurists. Now he’s sharing the edge with you! · What are tomorrow’s hottest industries? · What huge industries of today are doomed to extinction? · How will our lives be changed by advancements in robotics, in drone technology, and in manufacturing and transportation? · How can education cope with the explosive new world of enhanced information, hyperactive business environments, and unimaginable cultural shifts? · Who will be the masters of tomorrow’s universe—and who will be left behind? · Above all, how can you protect yourself from the most disruptive aspects of the changes sweeping your way—as well as become one of the masters of these changes? Those changes are taking place now. Thomas Frey shows where they will be taking all of us tomorrow and offers a roadmap for the future.

This thought-provoking collection will challenge librarians at every kind of institution to start planning today for the library of tomorrow.

This book will show you how to harness sustainable thinking to move forward with confidence into the unknown.

More than a hundred years from now, an arborist fighting to save the last remaining forest on Earth discovers a secret about the trees—one that changes not only her life, but also the fate of our world. Inspired by the real-life “Future Library,” a long-term environmental and literary public art project currently underway in the Norwegian wilderness. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

An introductory textbook offering a low barrier entry to data science; the hands-on approach will appeal to students from a range of disciplines.

A "New York Times" Notable Book, "The Debt to Pleasure" is a wickedly funny ode to food as the novel's snobbish narrator instructs readers in his philosophy on everything from the erotics of dislike to the psychology of the menu.

With insightful comments from a variety of sources-and a generous dose of humor-Shuman builds fictional scenarios that are guaranteed to get librarians thinking, What if...? Eight new scenarios explore such developments as virtual reality, robots, time travel, computer viruses, security, and more-all within the context of the public library (or cybrary, as the author calls it). Written in a conversational tone, the book is intended to stimulate discourse and exploration of issues. Current trends are carefully woven into each scenario as Shuman investigates issues surrounding the library's role in the future. A list of quotations about the future and an extensive bibliography for further reading conclude the work. This book is a sequel to (not a revision of) Shuman's previous work The Library of the Future. Like its predecessor, it is entertaining and thought-provoking-a great read for librarians, library administrators, and students in library school.