All of the ALIA members want to know what the future holds for library and information services. Of course, it is impossible to predict in exact terms, but using global trends, early indicators and futurist thinking to develop themes can guide the discussion about where it might be headed. For the purpose of this discussion paper, ALIA has looked at the broad role of library and information services, and specific circumstances relating to school, public, academic and special libraries, and collecting institutions. The starting point was to look at how the sector arrived at this point (timeline) and the current situation. The futurists’ view of the world was described and looked at how this might impact on ALIA members. From this, three themes were devised, which provide quite different scenarios.
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