Content, Services, and Space: The Future of the Library as Lines Blur

Traditional roles of libraries, publishers, service providers, and even patrons are continually changing. Libraries increasingly take on functions previously managed by publishers—in some cases, by actually becoming traditional publishers, through the absorption of university press operations and the creation of IR-based journals, and in some cases by making direct investments in dissemination, by underwriting Open Access APCs. Librarians are expanding into learning, instructional design, software development, and more, providing services around the world to a much wider range of patrons. Meanwhile, patron-driven initiatives are continue to alter the way libraries acquire content, giving rise to questions about how collections are built and how publisher business models are morphing. Content types are blurring. Textbooks, reference works, journals, books, audio, video, learning tools, lectures, primary sources, and more are all fair game for course materials, often delivered via Learning Management Systems—bringing publishers and services into the space, as well. Four industry veterans discuss this rapidly changing landscape, identifying key trends and key questions: What happens when libraries become publishers or service providers? How do we measure the success and value of patrons as selectors? What role does discovery play in the modern library? How can subscription content best be leveraged in the classroom? How can pricing be more visible to all? How can assessment help instructors and libraries make better informed decisions? If these overlapping trends continue, they bring with them interesting possibilities for the shifting nature of the library and for a new understanding of what it means to publish. Will the library of the future be the disruptor or the disrupted