From ACRL, the 2010 Top Ten Trends in Academic Libraries (in alphabetical order):
- Academic library collection growth is driven by patron demand and will include new resource types. … Increasingly, libraries are acquiring local collections and unique materials … These materials may include special collections, university archives, and/or the scholarly output of faculty and students. Libraries also recognize the need to collect, preserve, and provide access to digital datasets. … These materials may include special collections, university archives, and/or the scholarly output of faculty and students. Libraries also recognize the need to collect, preserve, and provide access to digital datasets. …
- Budget challenges will continue and libraries will evolve as a result. …
- Changes in higher education will require that librarians possess diverse skill sets. …
- Demands for accountability and assessment will increase. …
- Digitization of unique library collections will increase and require a larger share of resources. Digitization projects make hidden and underused special collections available to researchers worldwide. As Clifford Lynch (Coalition for Networked Information) has said, “special collections are a nexus where technology and content are meeting to advance scholarship in extraordinary new ways.” …
- Explosive growth of mobile devices and applications will drive new services. …
- Increased collaboration will expand the role of the library within the institution and beyond. Collaboration efforts will continue to diversify: collaborating with faculty to integrate library resources into the curriculum and to seek out information literacy instruction, and as an embedded librarian; working with scholars to provide access to their data sets, project notes, papers, etc. in virtual research environments and digital repositories; collaborating with information technology experts to develop online tutorials and user-friendly interfaces to local digital collections; collaborating with student support services to provide integrated services to students; and collaborating with librarians at other institutions to improve open source software, share resources, purchase materials, and preserve collections. …
- Libraries will continue to lead efforts to develop scholarly communication and intellectual property services. … Recruiting content for IRs provides a natural entrée for conversations about scholarly communication issues. …
- Technology will continue to change services and required skills. …
- The definition of the library will change as physical space is repurposed and virtual space expands. …
All of the above—and not just the last trend—will change the definition of a library.
