Shaping Priorities for Library Systems
Interface Volume 28 Number 4, Winter, 2006. Interface is the quarterly newsletter published by the ASCLA division of the ALA. The Illinois Library Systems Directors Organization (ILSDO) surveyed 1,775 librarians across the state of Illinois to gather input on changes in technology and society and how Library Systems could help their members respond to these changes. Results of the survey are included in the article.
Volume 28, Number 4, Winter 2006
Shaping Priorities for the Future of Library Systems
By Amanda McKay, Special Projects Coordinator, Illinois Library Systems Directors Organization, and Mary Witt,
Assistant Director, North Suburban Library Systems
In August and September 2005, the Illinois Library Systems Directors Organization (ILSDO) surveyed 1,775 librarians across
the state of Illinois to gather input on changes in technology and society and how Library Systems could help their members
respond to these changes. One of the most interesting things about the survey results was that members from all Systems had
very similar issues and concerns, no matter what their size of library or geographic region.
Technology and the Future of Libraries
Generally, awareness of technology was high. Excluding podcasting and RSS, all respondents reported an awareness of
technologies such as blogging, Web conferencing, online interactive tutorials, instant messaging, intranets, and text
messaging. Though awareness was high, application of these technologies was not widely reported. Only email was in wide
use amongst the majority of respondents (89 percent).
Free Internet search engines, such as Google, were seen as the strongest competitor (56 percent of respondents) for libraries
while bookstores (traditional and online) were seen as minor competitors.
Social Change and the Future of Libraries
Survey respondents were asked to rate the extent to which various social trends could force them to change their focus or
the services they offered. Libraries from all Illinois Library Systems identified the same top three trends in each of the
following categories:
- Population/Demographic Trends
- Increasing ethnic/language diversity
- Graying of America/aging baby boomers
- Increasing poverty levels
- Government/Political Trends
- Opposition to tax increases
- Privacy/intellectual freedom policies
- Security concerns in public places
- Business/Economic Trends
- Customer expectations for customization/personalization
- Marketing emphasis on instant gratification
- Overwhelming consumer choice
Library Systems and the Future of Libraries
The final area in which respondents were surveyed was the role of Library Systems. They identified the System services that
they valued and used most. They were also asked to identify future scenarios in the library profession that kept them up at
night. The services that were most valued included interlibrary loan/resource sharing, delivery, continuing education,
opportunities for local/personal networking, and technical support. The future scenario that caused the most concern was that
the public did not see the value of libraries.
Follow-up
ILSDO has already started to address a number of the issues that were raised in the survey. Since ethnic/language diversity
was the top demographic trend for libraries, ILSDO has continued to educate System staff so that they are better prepared to
help their members and so that their members will turn to them for support in this area. Likewise, marketing issues emerged
as a major area of need, and so Systems are collaboratively looking for ways they might help libraries show their value to
the public. Additionally, since all Library Systems had such similar responses, the potential for addressing some of the
other issues through collaborative ventures is very high.
Visit ILSDO for more
information about ILSDO and to read the
executive summary of the survey.
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Shaping Priorities for Library Systems