Case Study

Ahead of the inaugural Next Generation Libraries Summit 2017 we chat to Diana Hodge, Manager of Academic Library Services at UniSA. In this article Diana explores the impact of the university’s Digital Learning Strategy on library services, and delves into the recent library transformation that has seen a massive 50% reduction in the university’s physical book collection.

Throughout the article Diana further explores the repurposing of library spaces and explains the upskilling strategy employed by the library in order to assist staff with the huge culture shift. 

For centuries libraries have been the keystones of their communities – with people congregating to read, learn, discover and elevate themselves through knowledge. As libraries have grown in number and collections have grown in size, this traditional role has become diluted, with libraries becoming places for transactions – the simple lending and returning of books.

Wollongong City Libraries however is on a mission to go back to the roots of library services. Ahead of Next Generation Libraries 2017 we caught up with Mark Norman, Manager of Wollongong Central Library. In this article Mark explores Wollongong City Libraries’ 2017-2022 Strategy that outlines the future of library services in the Wollongong region.

Throughout the article Mark also delves into the community engagement approach employed in developing the strategy and explores some of the new spaces and services Wollongong’s libraries will offer as part of their new Strategy.  

Ahead of Next Generation Libraries 2017 we look at the strategies employed by library service providers across the country in an effort to foster innovation, improve quality of life and better cater to their local communities and every day users. 

Ahead of the inaugural Next Generation Libraries Summit 2017 we chat with Ben Kolaitis, Emerging Technologies Team Leader at Melbourne Library Services and Justine Hanna, Learning Library Team Leader at Kathleen Syme Library and Melbourne Library Services.

Ben and Justine share details of Melbourne’s library evolution, which includes a host of new technologies and facilities, and delve into how this evolution is aiding community collaboration and engagement.  

Libraries are facing a crisis of identity and function due to rapidly developing technology and changing social expectations of how to access information. With digital mediums becoming increasingly popular with today’s modern user, libraries are struggling to keep up.

Thus, this challenges the notion of what a library should be in the 21^st century and how they can be transformed to remain as a popular place of learning in this modern age.

Ahead of the Next Generation Libraries summit 2018, we chat with Daniel Flood, Creative Manager with The Edge at the State Library of Queensland and explore how he reimagined the traditional library into a space that provides exceptional experiences for modern users through technology and innovation. 

In this article for Next Generation Libraries 2018, Daniel Flood, Creative Manager with The Edge at the State Library of Queensland discusses:

• The processes towards investing in a next generation library
• How to know which new technologies to acquire
• How next generation libraries benefit the community