The Future of University Libraries

For those college students that attend a large campus, they probably have access to state of the art library facilities filled with stacks and rooms of books, a computer room and study areas. Some campuses even have more than one or two of these libraries. But as more and more information is available to student online and with college campuses beginning to embrace technology like never before, what does the future hold for libraries full of books?

This country has already seen the closing of hundreds of newspapers, magazines and publications over the past several years as the economy crumbled and the creation of technology skyrocketed. People can now read books on mini laptops, listen to novels through their headphones and find answers to research questions with the click of the mouse. It seems as though the printed word is becoming obsolete. One academic, Daniel Greenstein, the Vice Provost of Academic Planning for the University of California System, agrees. He believes that "university libraries of the future will be sparingly staffed, highly decentralized, and have a physical plant consisting of little more than special collections and study areas." He also believes that institutions will begin sharing those collections amongst each other which will lower the cost of book maintenance and increase the available supply of information. Another cost savings, supply increasing tool, will be Google’s online collection. Currently the Internet giant is on a mission to digitize the world’s book supply and create the world’s largest online library. By offering students access to research material from the comfort of their dorm room and laptop computer, their desire and need to visit the library decreases dramatically.

Many universities are seeing this shift in the role of libraries already, thanks to lost funding and the need to cut costs. By turning the library into a technology-based center and a quiet area for study only, they can lower the library budget substantially. Greenstein also believes that libraries will begin outsourcing more of their tasks, for example using online cataloging services like the "Online Computer Library Center, Inc." Fewer books, less space and fewer duties means fewer staff members needed and fewer salaries to pay.

While this idea of book-less libraries can seem hard to grasp now, one day that could be the norm for college students across the country. As the creation of new technology only increases and the budgets of most universities only shrinks, this new role of university libraries is becoming more realistic.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at 8:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.