[WEB4LIB] Predictions for the next...

[Eric Hellman]

1. At the end of the year, someone on the [LIB4WEB] mailing list (the 
new name for this list) will solicit predictions for the future of 
the use of the library in the Internet setting.

2. Before the end of the year, a major American university will 
announce plans to "outsource" its library to an internet company.

3. Within 3 years, an Ivy League institution will "spin-off" its 
entire library to a group of venture capitalists who want to build an 
"information portal" on the internet.

4. Within 3 years, the "serials crisis" will end when Wall Street 
arbitrageurs discover that it's cheaper to acquire certain major 
publishers outright than to buy subscriptions to the journals they 
publish.

5. By the end of the year, Amazon.com's web site will include 
hyperlinks to local library OPAC's.

6. By the end of the year, three new user authentication schemes will 
be announced. They will be incompatible but widely adopted by 
publishers.

7. Thomas Dowling's prediction list will have a higher hit rate than mine.

At 5:05 PM -0800 12/31/99, Andrew I. Mutch wrote:
>Amid all of these Happy New Year greetings, I'm curious as to what people
>think will be the trends for the use of the Internet in the library
>setting.  Predictions for the next year or few years will probably be most
>useful although if any deep-thinkers want to go for 10, have at it!
>:)
>
>What trends, visions, services, etc. should we be aware of, watching for,
>or leading the way to implement?
>
>Andrew Mutch
>Library Systems Technician
>Waterford Township Public Library
>Waterford, MI

Eric Hellman
Openly Informatics, Inc.
http://www.openly.com/           21st Century Information Infrastructure