Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries, ed. by Peter Hernon and Joseph R. Matthews (review)

A book about trends and issues shaping the evolution of American libraries by Peter Hernon and Joseph Matthews is almost self-recommending. The authors have many years of teaching, research, and service to the profession under their belts and are recognized as significant and influential leaders. Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries offers guidance to library leaders on how to anticipate and manage change. Hernon and Matthews fear that librarians who are reactive and deal only incrementally with today’s profound challenges will preside over the withering of libraries into littleused warehouses of legacy collections. The authors are convinced that we can ensure libraries will play important cultural and educational roles well into the future if we embrace change and employ some tried and true strategic and scenario planning techniques.

After succinctly describing how libraries no longer play unique roles in their communities as the environment of information scarcity has been replaced by the Internet and new communication and learning technologies, Hernon and Matthews draw the inevitable conclusion that libraries are at a crossroads and must redefine their niches. The authors stress that there is not likely to be a one-size-fitsall solution, either within the academic or public library spheres. Library leaders are urged to engage their communities in careful examinations of possible futures, and one of the major values of this book is the presentation of processes for such engagements.

One of the first steps is to survey the current operational environment of libraries. To this end, the authors review the recent literature and provide an excellent synthesis of the most important publications. In succeeding chapters, readers learn how “a library can move in an organized, straightforward process to consider the impact of trends, develop likely scenarios, explore the implications of each of the scenarios, and then develop the strategies necessary to achieve the vision of the library.” (p. 49) In separate chapters devoted to academic and public libraries respectively, Hernon and Matthews present a stimulating range of scenarios based on their own analyses and the input of selected library directors from around the country. Not only do Hernon and Matthews discuss in detail the likely implications for developing the necessary leadership, identifying new library personnel skill sets, and repurposing library facilities, but they also include essays and appendices by several prominent librarians who provide case studies or extended analyses of key topics.

The writing of Herndon and Matthews is lucid, and they present the content with little jargon and at a level that can be easily absorbed by readers from outside the profession. Anyone with an interest in the future of academic and public libraries will find a wealth of provocative thinking and practical advice in Reflecting on the Future of Academic and Public Libraries. I highly recommend it.