The future of public libraries

The State Library of New South Wales have a scenario study out called 'Bookend Scenarios' that is a remarkable piece of work (done in association with the Neville Freeman Association.) As scenario write-ups go, I have not seen better. It looks back to what has brought us to the present, and looks forward in coherent interesting ways, backed up by plausible timelines and creative thinking. It primarily oriented to Australian concerns, but in a field like this the issues are remarkably similar if not identical to libraries the world over. This is the key matrix:

But the devils is in the details which are well thought through. The full study report is available for download at: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/publications/docs/bookendsscenarios.pdf