[WEB4LIB] Re: The next 5 years

[Peter Schlumpf]

I don't think one can predict "e-trends" in any meaningful or useful way at all
for a period of 5 years.  If you had asked the question, say, in 1991 the reality
we live in today bears little resemblence to any of the answers you would have
gotten from any "expert panels" of the time.  No one had predicted whathad become
of the Internet in 1996 and by extention today.  Important innovation so often
takes place in obscurity in most unlikely places.  Technologies and whole
industries that we will take for granted five years from now are probably taking
shape today in somebody's garage, apartment bedroom, or graduate thesis project.

Peter Schlumpf
schlumpf at nslsilus.org

sean dreilinger wrote:

> Jonathan Esterhazy wrote:
> > 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*.
>
> for practical midrange advice on e-trends, the six trends identified by
> an expert panel and mentioned c/o roy tennant in assorted LIS lists last
> week are killer:
> http://www.lita.org/committe/toptech/trendsmw99.htm
>
> hey - anything which advocates mcdonald's fast-food tactics for the
> reference desk is worth a look :-)
>
> the ``What's Hot & New'' talk by Ulla de Stricker and Stephen Abram at
> the ILI 99 conference was excellent -- maybe they could be persuaded to
> make it available online somewhere. otherwise i may have notes. very
> concise & upbeat look into the future of information profession[als] as
> influenced by technology.
>
> some grumpy feedback of my own contributed a UCLA library school
> curriculum review last december:
> http://durak.org/sean/pubs/dlis-feedback/node4.html
>
> and the rosier first-take on the influence of technology on the
> profession/ethics here:
> http://durak.org/sean/pubs/librarian-to-cybrarian/node5.html
> http://durak.org/sean/pubs/librarian-to-cybrarian/node6.html
>
> really cool thread - nice to read everyone's thoughts this week
> --sean
>
> --
> mailto:sean at savvysearch.com                sean dreilinger, mlis
>  http://www.savvysearch.com                http://durak.org/sean