New trends in research libraries

Abstract

At the Feb 2005 meeting of the Librarians' Union's Group for State Employees research libraries were urged to adopt weblogs as a means of communication, especially with the young. User education now tends to be integrated into the curriculum, so that the library becomes part of academic support. The focus has shifted from information searching to information management and libraries are developing interactive programs, such SWIM, Scribo and the InfoGallery, which support learning. The vision of the disappearance of the printed book in research libraries, and Google as the librarian of the future, was raised. The local catalogue could disappear and become part of Google and a common library system for Danish research libraries. Students could use the space available for work stations if books and journals were removed to cheaper storage. Subject specialists should no longer be employed locally, but become part of a common national reference service. With technical processes passed to clerical staff, the professional demarcations will have been abolished and librarians will have to undergo further professional training. Original article in Danish.