Libraries of the Future

The Libraries of the Future project was established to help those running academic libraries to plan for the future.

The project produced three scenarios which represent possible futures for higher education in the UK: the Wild West the Beehive, and the Walled Garden. These are not meant as predictions but as tools for academic libraries to use to review and hone their organisational strategies.  They provide an opportunity to consider how libraries can adapt to the major social, economic and technological changes in the environment for higher education which will be taking place in coming decades.

The project produced a series of resources available to all academic libraries, including a guide to the scenarios themselves and information on how to use them.

The project sponsors have also commissioned a series of case studies which will be published in Spring 2012. Views and comments on the project and associated resources are welcome and can be found here.