The Library of the Future

When you hear the phrase "The Library of the Future" what types of images appear in your mind? Reference questions received through implants in librarian’s brains? Books flying through the air to your home? Wait, are there even print books in the future? Maybe books are directly downloaded into your brain. Maybe they will be a pill that you can just swallow with a glass of water. Okay, maybe I’ve read too many science fiction novels.

But seriously, how do you envision public libraries and their services in the future? And more specifically how do you envision our library and how we will serve our community in the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

Our current long range plan lists two service priorities of facilitating lifelong learning and providing a public forum. We’ve been using these two priorities to guide our work now, but this long range plan was only designed for five years and we are almost two years into it already.

Although it is too soon to start work on our next five-year plan, it’s never too soon to imagine what our future may hold. Consider which services we currently provide that may become more or less important in the future. What new services we will need to provide. Regardless of how it works I see us becoming more of an information center for our community.

A hub where all people will come to connect with information, ideas, and people. I see the library connecting more with other local organizations to provide essential services to all in our community. This vision builds on the idea of the library as a public forum and takes it to its next progression.

Please share any thoughts and ideas you have on our future; I would love to hear from you! You can contact me by phone at 378-2798 or by email at ltretter@sjlib.org or just stop in the library.

Laura Tretter, Director
San Juan Island Library
360.378.2798
ltretter@sjlib.org

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The Library of the Future