Library Conference

De Lange conference

Yesterday I got inworld and had a seat in front of the big screen at the Gonick theatre on the NMC Campus where the De Lange conference for Emerging Libraries was underway. The panel I saw had the Presidents of Rice University (from which the video was being simulcast), Standford, and U of Michigan.

The panel discussed the future of the library and it's role as a digital entity, as well as its future as a companion to the classroom. These topics by and large struck a cord with the audience, which consisted of about 15 individuals. Personally, I was very interested in the topic because I am currently formulating a vision for the future of the classroom called:
The Polychronic Classroom.

While the Presidents respectfully raised questions about these issues, they presented them as if they had been "briefed" and not thoroughly informed. Questions like "What will a Librarian do in the future?" were not answered in their panel. However passionate discussion among the SL audience, some of whom are involved with the SL library and some who were actually at the panel discussion at Rice, did.

A librarian could a be a guide, directing library goers towards what they seek. They could be a host or administrator perhaps, building virtual outposts and categorizing information. Or, as I suggested in the discussion, they be more like Hiro Protagonist from Snow Crash: a collector of information that adds meaningful content to the library.

Events like this conference could be recorded, documented, catalogued and filed onto one database. Which, as a matter of fact one of the participants in the discussion was very interested in doing. I think she was a librarian.