Digital Library Futures

Digital Library Futures: User Perspectives and Institutional Strategies

Initiatives at a cross-cultural level, where libraries, museums and archives work together in creating digital libraries, and making their cultural heritage collections available online, are emerging. Leading academic researchers from the cultural heritage and the publishers sectors approach this issue: Digital library user experience: a focus on current user research; Digital library content: what users want and how they use it; Strategies for institutions: how cultural institutions and publishers respond to the digital challenge.

Digital Library Futures

The End of Wisdom?

The End of Wisdom? The Future of Libraries in a Digital Age assembles opinion pieces, forecasts, strategy options, and case studies from leading worldwide politicians, academics, educators, authors, publishers, captains of industry, senior public sector workers, library directors, IT gurus and other key players in the field of information provision who discuss their views on the hypothesis surrounding the "end of libraries" and the "death of books." The contributions – ranging in length from 500 to 2000 words are analyzed and summarized to create a rich picture of current trends and likely futures for libraries of all types, with digital options discussed in detail. - Focuses on the key issue facing library and information services for the foreseeable future - Takes a much broader view by asking a wide range of key people and representative stakeholders and user groups for their view of the future of libraries of all kinds - Presents a comprehensive analysis of likely directions and options for libraries, library managers, and users - Includes a route map for the future - Builds on the successful approaches adopted in A Handbook of Digital Library Economics and Libraries and Society