23 June 2014

New report: investigation into future of the library and information sector in Australia

The Australian Library & Information Association (ALIA) has released a series of reports looking into the impact of information technologies and evolving information services on the future of the library and information sector in Australia. ALIA's Future of the Library and Information Science Profession project included consultations with futurists, new media experts, educators and library members, and builds on the IFLA Trend Report.

Media release:

The impact of unimaginable technologies, a global market for education and radical transformation in the corporate world are three of the themes emerging from a new series of reports published by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), as an investigation into the future of the library and information sector.

National treasures direct to your device, community-created content, and a library card for every child at birth are just a few of the possibilities described in the reports, which are based on a year-long consultation involving leaders in the field and a broad range of contributors.

ALIA President Julie Rae said, ‘The scale of the project meant that we heard from futurists, new media experts, authors and publishers, as well as from our own members. The findings will promote further discussion among professionals, educators and students; they will help inform our relationships with government, business and industry, and they will shape the future strategy of the Association.’

In addition to the series of reports, ALIA has produced short summaries of the highlights and provided a list of the actions resulting from the findings.

ALIA’s Future of the Library and Information Science Profession project for Australia complements a worldwide initiative by the International Federation of Library Associations – the IFLA Trend Report (trends.ifla.org/).

For more information about this project, contact advocacy@alia.org.au

To see the documents, visit www.alia.org.au/futureoftheprofession.