PassionIT News

Continuing from our previous blog post ‘What Will Libraries of the Future Look Like?’ we look in more depth at the changes you may see in your academic library.

Technology continues to evolve, and as it does it is becoming more and more integrated with society. Smart appliances and voice-controlled assistants are just two examples of how technology is evolving to make people’s lives easier. As technology changes the way we manage our lives, will it also affect the way libraries are managed?

Spurring innovation in the library

One of the major changes we expect to see in academic libraries is the use of new innovating technologies. The NMC Horizon Report Summary 2017 Library Edition suggests that in the very near future we will be seeing “libraries adapting to accommodate new applications of technology for learning, research, and information”. This is certainly not something new for academic libraries - they have had to be adaptive and flexible with new innovations in learning and research for some time now – but the report specifically references new applications of technology.

Adopting these new applications will allow institutions to “unite across international borders and work towards common goals”. This means we could be seeing further collaboration across the globe, enabling libraries in providing improved access to scholarly material and resources. These innovations could also “help libraries to more effectively preserve and mine their collections online”, thereby improving and redefining access for researchers.

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/network/research-libraries/libraries-archives-databases/library-impact/how-technology-is-changing-the-future-of-libraries