ACRL's Top Ten Assumptions

Read it as you would a Letterman Top 10 List- here are the 'Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians: A report from the ACRL research committee' - click here for the full report.

10. Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.

9. Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow.

8. Distance learning will be an increasingly common option in higher education and will co-existbut not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model.

7. Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers, expecting high quality facilities and services.

6. Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business.

5. The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding.

4. Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education.

3. Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services.

2. The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (student and faculty) that they serve.

and the #1 assumption that will impact academic libraries and librarians:

1. There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval.

If you have been paying attention, these should come as no surprise.