At the CNI meeting earlier this week, open access was described as “inevitable” (or at least some form of open access – green, gold, or otherwise). It made me wonder… what else might we describe as inevitable? And, what isn’t inevitable … yet? In my own areas of work, I’d offer that wide-spread library involvement in virtual worlds seems inevitable – though what shape that involvement will take isn’t. Likewise, in spite of our best efforts, it doesn’t seem inevitable yet that librarians will embrace their teaching roles or that – if they do – campuses will see the value in this. So – what seems “inevitable” to ACRLog readers?
I think it’s inevitable that academic libraries will need to do more to connect with students via cell phones or other types of handheld devices. That seems to be the way things are going in other countries ahead of us in the delivery of web services to mobile devices. We have a long way to go in this area but I think we’ll make more progress in the next 5 years. I think I’m bit more optimistic on the teaching role though. I think information literacy will become more ingrained at IHEs at all levels, and librarians will teach or work with faculty who will teach the skills. If the current atmosphere on assessment and accountability is an indicator, getting far more outcomes driven is going to be inevitable at IHEs.
Food in libraries without a scolding.