Libraries of the future – What's happening today?

As part of the Libraries of the Future campaign, Jisc and The Guardian newspaper have pooled resources to investigate what UK higher education is doing to create user-friendly and technologically advanced libraries for the future. Three pertinent new articles, which are previewed below, have just been published on The Guardian’s Libraries Unleashed microsite.

CERN – Too much information?
As particles are busy colliding at Switzerland’s CERN institute, the question of how to store its data becomes ever more pressing. This article by Wendy Wallace explores questions within the scientific community regarding who should have access to data and how, and strategies for funding and managing such developments.

Technology saves vital hours for librarians
Books can go astray just as animals can wander, which is why radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip technology, originally designed for tagging animals, is now being used in some libraries. This frees up librarians’ time to concentrate on educating learners how to best use other library resources. Karen Higginbottom’s article explores the potential and pitfalls of RFID.  

Libraries rise to the challenge of inclusion
Academic libraries are going beyond their legal obligations to ensure that e-learning materials are accessible to all, with Jisc’s TechDis advisory service on hand to provide guidance to support disabled staff and learners. This article investigates what’s out there in terms of screen readers, voice to text software and learning materials to improve inclusion for all.

More information on Jisc’s Libraries of the Future campaign