This document discusses the future of libraries and the library profession. It notes that while libraries have existed throughout human civilization, each generation must adapt libraries to meet contemporary needs. It identifies several trends shaping the future, such as demographic changes, environmental concerns, technological disruption, and changing user behaviors and expectations. The document argues that libraries will continue fulfilling basic human needs for access to information and community. It also discusses how different types of libraries are responding to changes in their sectors.

1. The Future of Libraries
OpenAthens Access Lab 2020
Nick Poole, Chief Executive, CILIP
19th March 2020
Twitter @NickPoole1

2. Introducing CILIP
CILIP is the professional association for people working in
libraries, knowledge and information management. Our
members work as embedded professionals in 20+ industry
sectors.
We believe in the power of libraries, knowledge and information
to change lives.
Our role:
• Working for our members UK-wide & in each sector
• Education, CPD and training
• Future-proofing the profession
• Advocating for our profession
Find out more at http://www.cilip.org.uk

3. Our history
We began life as the Campaign to lift the Penny Tax – lobbying Government
between 1850 & 1919 to lift the ‘penny rate’ which limited the tax-raising
powers of Local Councils to fund free, universal public libraries.
“By 1867, only 27 authorities in Britain had adopted library legislation; the penny
rate often limited the means of local authorities to provide library buildings,
especially in depressed areas with many low-rated properties, even where the
will to do so existed, without substantial private subsidy.”
In 1871, this limitation was partially lifted and the limit was completely removed
by 1919, leading to the flowering of public library services.
In 1885, we formally became the professional association for people working in
all types of library, including academic, school and public libraries.

4. “The library was never finished. It was never meant to be finished.”
Rolf Halpel, Director of Citizen’s Services and Libraries, Aarhus, Denmark

5. Like the past, but different…
For as long as there has been human civilisation, there
has been something like a library. The need for trusted
access to quality information, in a format and location to
meet peoples needs is as old as we are.
It is for each generation to look at the contemporary
challenges and opportunities for our society and to
decide how we will configure the function of a library to
meet their needs.
We are living and working in the early days of a society
and an economy that are being transformed by
knowledge, data and information. So how will our
generation adapt?
Neo-Assyrian cuneiform tablet from the Library of Ashburnipal, C7th BC, Nineveh

6. A very human need
Wherever there is disruption or displacement in the
world, people build libraries as a vital part of rebuilding
their lives. COVID-19 is an example of how libraries build
resilience, facilitate the flow of knowledge and
information and will help us to recover, socially and
economically.
Libraries act as trusted places of safety, information,
community, reconciliation, solidarity, education and
support (whether online or in-person).
This simple human need is likely to persist, whatever the
behavioural shifts brought about by technology, economic
change or even global pandemics.

7. How is the world around us changing?
CILIP runs a regular Foresight and Analysis exercise to help identify the wider social, economic and
technological trends that will shape the future needs of information users
1. Demographic change
2. Understanding the changing attitudes and behaviours of our users
3. A period of political adjustment
4. The environmental imperative
5. Ongoing technological change
6. ‘Finding alpha’ in knowledge, data and information
7. The bottom line and ‘social ROI’
8. Information overload

8. Demographic change
The UK population is set to grow by 3.6m people (5.5%)
over the next 10 years – from 65.6m in 2016 to 69.2m in
mid-2026, passing 70m people in 2029.
This increase is driven by a combination of lower overall
mortality rates, increased birth rates, longer lives and
positive net migration.
Most of our institutions, services, infrastructure and
housing were conceived in the postwar era for a
maximum of 60m people. We need to build.

9. Understanding changing attitudes and behaviours
Global EuroMonitor trends for 2020 highlight how public attitudes and values are changing
1. Beyond AI – consumers are embracing AI for convenience and business are integrating the technology to
automate operations and personalise services – raising significant ethical concerns
2. Catch me in seconds - capturing consumer attention requires concise, relevant and multisensory content
that can be processed in an instant
3. Frictionless mobility – the rise and rise of personalised and frictionless transport options
4. Inclusive for all - diversity, representation and inclusion are becoming key metrics of a brand’s relevance
5. The multi-functional home – home is becoming a place to work, shop, exercise, relax, learn – brands are re-
shaping their offer around in-home consumption
Source: Euromonitor 2020 Consumer Trends Index

10. Understanding changing attitudes and behaviours
Continued…/
6. Private personalisation – consumers are actively rejecting brands that mishandle their personal data
7. From global to local – brands are re-framing their offer around the increasing demand from consumers for
authentic, local experiences, products and services
8. Reuse revolutionaries – ethical consumers are actively rejecting single-use products and plastic packaging
(but not always reflecting our values in our behaviours!)
9. Cleaner and more sustainable cities – there is an increasing recognition of clean air and sustainability as a
social justice and equalities issue, and a rise in solutions to long-term problems
Source: Euromonitor 2020 Consumer Trends Index

11. “Convenience and personal control are the core themes connecting these
trends in 2020. Consumers are putting themselves first as they look for ways
to simplify their lives.”
Gina Westbrook, Director of Consumer Trends, Euromonitor International

12. A period of political and economic adjustment
According to the IMF, the UK remains the 6th largest world
economy and one of the world’s largest ‘producing
countries’. Our service sectors account for 80% of the
workforce and 70% of our economic activity.
However, this relatively strong macroeconomic position
masks some serious underlying issues:
• A poor trade deal could shrink GDP by 5-8%
• Persistently low productivity makes us uncompetitive
• Public debt remains above 85% of GDP
• Economic inequality is bad and getting much worse*
* https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-economic-inequality-uk
UK Historic Productivity graph (Source: ONS, March 2020)

13. The environmental imperative
Neilsen Data indicates that 81% of consumers globally
believe strongly that businesses and organisations have a
responsibility to improve environmental sustainability.
‘Eco-consumerism’ spans all ages and generations and is
consistent between genders. However, a recent study
found that despite 65% of consumers indicating that they
‘buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability’,
only around 26% actually do.
Libraries have a key role to play both in modelling
environmentally-accountable behaviours in our own work
and in educating the public about sustainability and
climate change.

14. Ongoing technological change
Waves of disruptive technological change no longer
follow on from one another in a sequence – new
technological disruptions are emerging, merging and
disappearing all the time.
The ‘perpetual beta’ creates a huge challenge for
leadership in our sector – we know what we have left
behind, but the destination we’re heading towards isn’t a
destination, it’s a process.
We have to learn to stop freaking out every time a new
technology arrives, and learn to ‘be the bridge’ that
makes it useful to our users. It’s about being courageous,
curious and playful (and one step ahead).
Image copyright © Juan Cols, ResearcherGate

15. ‘Finding alpha’ in knowledge, data and informaton
‘Finding alpha’ is the expression used in the financial
services sector to describe the ability to extract
competitive advantage through insight and analytics
from the same datasets your competitors are using (both
structured and unstructured data).
Whether it is reducing heart disease mortality rates in
healthcare, speeding up access to relevant precedent in
legal cases or understanding the risk factors in domestic
abuse, there is a race underway to get more insight and
intelligence from information.
Finding alpha isn’t about more complicated algorithms,
it’s about better structure & cataloguing of your
information. Image copyright © Wall Street Journal

16. The bottom-line and ‘social ROI’
Global mergers and acquisitions data shows three
‘heartbeats’ – the chaotic movement of money markets,
the ongoing underlying trend of technology-driven
disruption and a significant rise in ‘ESG’ investing
(Environmental and Social Good).
In a digital economy, trust, accountability, transparency,
social impact, equalities and diversity and a commitment
to minimising climate change are increasingly becoming
part of the valuation of businesses & organisations.
In an environment where trust is a currency, ethical
information professionals are essential.

17. Information overload
‘Information overload’ occurs when amount of input to a
given system exceeds its processing capacity. The Internet of
Things, smart devices and connectivity means that large
enterprises are increasingly dealing with petabyte-scale
datasets.
Libraries are not competing with search – we are competing
with AI-driven tools for meta-description and enrichment,
data curation, discovery, selection and recommendation.
We know that designing information systems that scale while
preserving quality, privacy and accountability is a question of
getting the fundamentals right – good information science and
knowledge organisation.

18. What does this mean for our profession?
These forces are reshaping user expectations of libraries.
From this, we take some key insights:
• Change is the new constant
• We have to learn, unlearn, relearn on an ongoing basis
• Our values and ethics really matter
• There is a central role for our services
• We have to be more environmentally accountable
• We have to do better on diversity and representation
• We need to get better at convenience, immediacy and
agency

19. The Library of the Future will meet
these challenges by balancing access to
four elements, delivered in a wide
range of physical and online contexts –
moving seamlessly with the user as
they move between activities.
The expertise of the librarian will be
about how these elements are
configured and how we support users
to develop the facility, literacy and
agency to make best use of them.
Books, reading
and
information
Digital
connectivity
and resources
Events,
activities and
experiences
Developing the
skills & literacy
of users

20. Changing sectors…
These wider social, economic, technological and political changes are impacting
differently on different parts of the profession:
• Schools and colleges
• Public libraries
• Universities and research
• Health libraries
• Prison libraries
• Corporate library and information services

21. School Libraries
School Libraries are experiencing something of a renaissance,
but still face fundamental challenges. Key factors include:
• Embracing ‘inquiry-based learning’ (FOSIL – www.fosil.org.uk)
• Overall provision better than expected
• The library increasingly seen as a learning commons/digital space
• Significant inequality between state & independent schools
• Children on Free School Meals much less likely to have a librarian
• Incredibly rewarding but issues with low pay & insecure employment

24. FE/College Libraries
College libraries are a vital part of our sector, but they are helping to
transform post-16 education for more than 2.5m learners across the
UK
• Increased support across all subjects
• FE colleges increasingly supporting apprenticeships & traineeships
• 150,000 people are studying for HE qualifications at a college
• 170,000 16-18 year-olds are studying for A-levels at a college
• Avg. college provides training for 600 local businesses
• Increased demand for teaching support & e-resources

25. Public Libraries
CILIP shares the Libraries Connected vision of “an inclusive,
modern, sustainable and high quality public library service at
the heart of every community in the UK.“
Public libraries have done a remarkable job of innovating and
adapting to changing needs. The real issue after 10 years of
austerity is the emergence of a 2-tier public library service.
Richer areas can fund libraries through local taxation. Poorer
areas can’t.
We need to secure a new investment package in public
libraries through Local Government to avoid choking off a wave
of adaptation and innovation.

26. University & research
Libraries in Higher Education are still highly valued for their impact on
teaching, learning and research, but haven’t been immune from the
effects of marketization & financial pressures
• Increasing specialisation - Research Data Management, Scholarly
Communications, Systems Librarians alongside more ‘traditional’
librarian roles
• A key part of the student experience – providing learner support,
building information literacy and research skills and providing access to
e-resources
• Working with students and academic staff to decolonise the collections
and develop more inclusive and collaborative approaches to
collections development

27. Health Libraries
The NHS is one of the most engaged and committed employers of
librarians and information professionals, with an NHS-wide policy and a
recognition of our importance in evidence-based healthcare.
• Librarians and Knowledge Specialist (HEELKS) staff support a huge
range of clinical outcomes across all healthcare contexts
• Recognition of the importance of professional qualifications and
certification alongside equivalents for clinical staff
• The Topol Review has proposed significant increases in the information
professional workforce in health, building on the recommendations of
Knowledge for Healthcare

29. Corporate Libraries
Significant growth in recruitment to roles in Knowledge and
Information Management, supporting a range of services
and activities including:
• Business/market intelligence
• Knowledge and Information Management
• Acquisitions, contracts and licensing
• Information Governance
• Archiving and retention
• Supporting recruitment and induction
78% provide
Research services
67% lead on Acquisitions
& Licensing
62% provide Knowledge &
Information Management
23% support Information
Governance

30. Reach
• 59% of respondents answer queries
& provide services to a global
clientele
• 22% provide services specific to UK
clients
• An increasing number provide
information services internationally
to client’s firms as well as their own
* Source: CILIP Corporate Library and Information Services Survey 2018

31. ‘Skills pipeline’
Attract, retain
and develop
diverse talent
Apprenticeship
Qualifications
Experience
Partnership with Learning Providers
Quality-
assurance,
accreditation &
engagement
Understand &
plan to meet
changing
industry needs
Recruitment
CPD
Engagement
Partnership with Employers
Maintaining and developing
professional standards

32. In 2019, CILIP and Nielsen Book asked thousands of children and young
people to build their ‘Library of the Future’ out of LEGO….

36. Top 10 Feature Requests for the #LibraryoftheFuture
1. Green energy to power the library
2. Robots to assist the librarians
3. Book-sorting drones
4. ‘Retro book shelves for future hipsters’
5. Parking for ‘carbon-neutral hyper cars’ & hoverboards
6. Coffee and wifi
7. E-History Machine (recreates dinosaurs)
8. Virtual Reality
9. A garden
10. A secret door

37. “The library was never finished. It was never meant to be finished.”
Rolf Halpel, Director of Citizen’s Services and Libraries, Aarhus, Denmark

38. The library of the future will be
whatever the users of the future need it to be