At the end of his book The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Revolution, David Kusek (who will be joining us in August) and his coauthor Gerd Leonhard put forth six megatrends that they believe will affect the future of music. Since the authors say “knowing how to recognize a trend often leads to recognizing a specific opportunity that may result from it”, here they are for your contemplation:

The accelerating pace and scope of diversity – This trend seems a no-brainer as we are all experiencing its “unfettered, low cost, all-you-can-eat access” to information. However, the authors’ description of our media becoming less ‘push’ and more ‘pull’ is an interesting one to consider. Information consumers are more and more attracted to access that offers choice and control, less TV and more internet for example.

While cleaning out our back room here in Post Falls, I came across photocopies of a series of articles on the future of libraries written by Raymond Kurzweil in the Jan, Feb, and Mar 1992 issues of Library Journal.

I thought it would be interesting to look back 13 years to see what people were saying about the future, as we are supposed to be looking 15 years out in creating our vision.

There is a story in my family that my sisters love to tell. Apparently I never spoke–until I went to school. I came home from my first day in Kindergarten, told everyone about my day, and haven’t stopped talking since. That’s their story. Years later, I can now explain to them that I simply process things verbally. It’s a wonderful way to make sense of new ideas, inspirations, and experiences. Maybe this is why I like the idea of blogging so much; it’s a great way to process. And, more importantly, to process as a community.

Earlier this week, I was provided the opportunity to listen in on the 2020 Vision Think Tank. This event included over 40 participants from the library community, plus a panel of sci-fi authors and specialists who helped the group to expand their perceptions of the future and, then, take the first steps toward thinking about the future of libraries in Idaho.