The future of the ‘research’ library in an age of information abundance and lifelong learning

Abstract

Traditionally, several types of library in Australia have been perceived as having a ‘research’ role, notably the National Library, the state libraries, and the university libraries, together with a few special libraries serving research-producing organisations such as the CSIRO. This paper provides some speculations on how some significant changes in the information environment may impact on the ‘research’ roles of libraries with a ‘public’ purpose. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.