Are you an innovative librarian with administrative ambitions? Or are you already a dynamic new library dean or director? We want to hear your vision of the future of libraries: where you think things are -- or better yet, should be -- going. New and aspiring library leaders with a long view are invited to contribute to this upcoming edited volume of visionary essays from ALA Editions, The Library 2025, that will help to guide the profession into the future.
--Book Abstract--
In an information environment where the only constant is change, many wonder where libraries are headed, if not into oblivion. This edited collection brings together the brightest new minds in the profession to share their fresh vision of the future of libraries. These promising current and future library administrators will have a significant impact in shaping this future. Drawing from their personal experiences, they bring their barrier-breaking perspectives to the task of reinventing the library. Through their essays, they answer the question: What should libraries look like in the future, what barriers exist, and how can we overcome them to realize the library of the future?
--Submissions--
Library 2025 will gather together essays focusing on envisioned futures for all types of libraries. We seek chapter proposals from new library leaders – both those who occupy positions of authority and those who would like to lead a library later in their career. Chapters that focus on one aspect of libraries are welcomed, as are chapters that take a broad perspective. Chapter topics may include, but are not limited to:
* Leadership & Management (i.e., leadership theories, new staffing models)
* Services (i.e., next-generation reference services, liaison roles)
* Library as Place (i.e., information/learning commons, shared spaces)
* Collections & Access (i.e., new formats, purchasing models, resource sharing)
* Instruction & Literacy (i.e., Information, Functional, Transliteracy, Media, Visual)
* Outreach (i.e., marketing, non-legislative Advocacy)
* External Relations (i.e., collaborating with non-library organizations, community partnerships, donor cultivation)
* The Profession (i.e., LIS education, state/regional/national associations, DIY movements, professional expectations)
* The Political & Economic Environment (i.e., intellectual freedom, Legislative advocacy, our financial future)
* Publishing and Scholarly Communications (i.e., future of publishing, digital repositories, open access)
Inspired by the guiding questions of Evans and O’Connor’s The Future By Us: Young Leaders Imagine Australia Beyond 2020, each chapter should address:
* A notable experience that shaped the author’s perspective on the future of libraries;
* The current challenge(s) and/or future opportunity(ies) in the world of libraries related to the topic of the chapter;
* An idea and/or strategy to effect change;
* The potential hurdles, costs, and competing interests involved in this strategy, and how they can be negotiated; and
* The author’s vision of an ideal future library.
--Propose a Chapter--
The proposal deadline is November 1, 2011. To propose a chapter, submit a one-page chapter abstract with a brief CV or resume and writing sample (in Word format) tolibrary2025book@gmail.com. Authors will be notified of acceptance on or before December 16, 2011, and will be expected to submit completed chapters by May 1, 2012.
--Editors--
Inquiries can be made to either of the editors:
Eric Frierson, ericfr@stedwards.edu. Library Digital Services Manager, St. Edward’s University and Ph.D. student in Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions at Simmons College.
Kim Leeder, kimleeder@cwidaho.cc. Director of Library Services, College of Western Idaho, 2008 ALA Emerging Leader, Library Journal 2011 Mover & Shaker.
