Oxford University Library of the Future Debate

Last week, Oxford University hosted a debate on the Library of the Future.

The website links to video from the event and blog posts.

A podcast of an interview with 2 of the debate participants is also available.

"What is the library of the future? This public question and answer debate discussed what information and library provision mean in these changing times; technology has had a huge effect on the behaviour of both information consumers and service providers. We asked what the library currently is and what do libraries need to do to support knowledge, innovation and society for the future? "

There was a very impressive group of speakers, including:

• Dr Malcolm Read, Executive Secretary - Joint Information Systems Commitee (JISC), a higher education research and funding body in the UK
• Dr Sarah Thomas, Bodleian's Librarian at Oxford
• Santiago de la Mora, Google Book Search in Europe
• Peter Murray-Rust, Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics
• Robert Darnton, Harvard University Librarian