However, the academic library paradigm has changed. In very broad terms, the changes have been caused by a number of major developments: inflation coupled with financial austerity and the devaluation of the dollar; a vast increase in the number of publications especially serials; the increasing availability of scholarly information in a wider range of formats; improved methods of bibliographic control; and different methods of accessing and delivering information caused in large part by improvements and developments in information technology. As a result of these changes, the simplistic solutions of the past may no longer be relevant or effective. And it is obvious that we must look at new models for accessing as well as delivering library services. The Library has developed a number of strategies to deal with this changing paradigm. In this issue Library News, I will deal only with one of the more important strategies.
This strategy takes cognisance of the changing ways that scholars will access information. To a large extent these changes will be conditioned by technological developments, especially in the area of information technology.
Networks, like the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet), are creating a revolution in the world of information access, dissemination, and retrieval. It is now possible not only to access the online catalogues of various Australian academic libraries, but also the catalogues of university libraries in the United States, Canada, Europe and other countries, as well as a whole range of electronic information via AARNet. The global span of today's networks is making international data interchange commonplace. Such developments make predictions about future access to information unclear. What is clear is that academic staff will need to equip themselves sufficiently with the skills that will allow them to cope with new ways of accessing information.
There is an increasing migration of print media to electronic forms, and these range from bibliographic and statistical data to full text databases. Delivery of information in electronic form can be made in a variety of ways, including CD-ROM products and online databases accessible from remote locations. The convergence of computers and telecommunications technology has created new ways in which information is gathered, processed and disseminated. The emergence of these technologies have also made it possible for individuals to access information in electronic forms directly from their desktop personal computer or terminal. To what extent libraries will be bypassed as sources of information now that a lot of the world's information is in electronic form is difficult to predict. While it is clear that libraries will "lose" some of their client base, the fact that these technologies are costly (and therefore may be out of the reach of the average individual), that they may be difficult to use because of the lack of common standards or user friendly interfaces, and that a lot of scholarly information is still transmitted via traditional print media, will ensure that libraries will continue to have a pivotal role to play as the intermediary between the user and civilisation's recorded knowledge.
But there is no doubt that university libraries will have to develop new strategies to deal with these developments. Colin Steele, Librarian of the Australian National University has pointed out that "in a growing number of disciplines - not just science - knowledge is extremely time sensitive. In the network environment of AARNet, JANET and INTERNET, by the time libraries get round to buying, processing and putting the material on shelves, the academic network riders will have left libraries far behind."
We cannot be absolutely sure what the future shape of libraries will be. But I would venture to guess that by the 21st century, the academic library will be a very different creature from what academics have been traditionally used to. Libraries will have evolved into a combination of electronic and print-based entities, and a lot of information in electronic form (including short loan collections and full text of major serials) will be available to staff and students 24 hours a day online rather than solely when the library is open. This means that the services provided by libraries will become much more decentralised, and scholars may not always have to visit the library to use their resources. In a sense, the development of libraries will parallel the changing nature of higher learning which will become less institutionalised as technology facilitates the provision of more distance education and Open Learning programmes. The university library of the future will be judged not by its success in collection building, but by its success in delivering accurate and timely information to its primary clientele - the scholars, teachers, researchers, general staff and students, who constitute the university community.
E. Lim
University Librarian