Optimizing Library Services--Crystal Ball Gazing: Academic Library Services in the 21st Century

Reinventing the library may seem a daunting task. Librarians can become overwhelmed thinking about change and how to adapt to it. And with change hitting academic libraries from numerous fronts, pondering how best to deal with technology changes and impacts, along with what services they can best offer, can be challenging to achieve. If librarians consider a basic foundation of libraries to be that libraries connect people with resources, and then take the time to muse on how librarians can continue to cover that basic, they should realize that services for the 21st century academic library are not that difficult to visualize. Although librarians may receive suggestions for services outside their mission, they will gain insight into service areas desired by those for whom they provide service. Some may be as simple as move out from behind the desk and engage students more proactively to inform students of library programs and services that can serve their need.