[WEB4LIB] The next 5 years

[Linda Woods Hyman]

At 12:42 PM 6/1/99 -0700, you wrote:
>sean dreilinger <sean at savvysearch.com> wrote:
>
>>i still don't get the question clearly -- care to elaborate a tiny bit?
>>

>What I'm looking for is pretty ambiguous -- and all your questions fit.
>
>My sense is that the web is beginning to transform a lot of library services
>and functions in very fundamental ways, and that our public service and
>IT planning processes are not adequately preparing us for these changes.
>So I'm trying to put together a picture of where we will be in a few years,
>so we can work that into our long range planning (public services,
>collections, and technology planning) *now*.
>

I love this question. I am no longer "in the trenches" trying to solve this
mystery in practical terms; but this question is one that I ask myself all
the time. I find it increasingly difficult to keep up with technology as a
whole. Ambiguity is the name of the game. It's no longer enough to plan for
storage and delivery of information. Now the entire concept of service is
shifting. (Neuromancy isn't that far away.) Training is almost always an
afterthought or conducted in crisis mode. How in the world can one person
do it all? Planning for reference service now means understanding
telecommunications, networking, the internet, videoconferencing,
multimedia, and more while still being able to interpret, communicate, and
establish rapport with humanoids. I hope this discussion will continue.
There have already been some great responses. 



****************************
Linda Woods Hyman, MLIS., MA.
Pacific Bell Education First
(619) 237-2020
http://www.kn.pacbell.com
lhyman at mail.sdsu.edu