_______________Scanning the Future@Your Library
Books
Weingand, Darlene E. Future-Driven Library Marketing. Chicago: American Library
Association, 1998. Weingand expands on Kotler‟s conceptual framework for marketing
by adding audit (scanning internal and external environments) and evaluation
components. To confidently project a current audit into the future she recommends a
"futures screen" that involves scanning and intelligence gathering via the Delphi Method.
Cornish, Edward. Futuring: The Exploration of the Future. Bethesda, MD: World Future
Society, 2004. A foundation for today‟s program, Futuring is an accessible introduction
to the theory, practice, and benefits of futuring. Provides both the why and how of futures
research. Extensive annotated bibliography promotes further investigation.
Shuman, Bruce A. The Library of the Future: Alternative Scenarios for the Information
Profession. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. 1989.
Shuman, Bruce A. Beyond the Library of the Future: More Alternative Futures for the
Public Library. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997. Shuman‟s imaginative
scenarios run the gamut from dark to liberating, traditional to radical. Political forces,
technological advancement, and the like all figure in scenarios that read like short stories.
Dycktwald, Ken. Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old. New
York: Putnam, 1999. Age Power presents the evidence for a looming baby-boom
transformation of what it means to be old. Implications for retirement, healthcare,
intergenerational relations, etc. are persuasively documented. Dr. Dychtwald remains an
active futurist and forecaster–see July-August article in The Futurist magazine, Ageless
Aging: The Next Era of Retirement.
Marsh, Nick, et al. Strategic Foresight: The Power of Standing in the Future. New York:
Crown Content, 2002.
Journals
The Futurist. Bethesda, MD: World Future Society. Bimonthly. Flagship publication of
the World Futures Society. Each issue contains feature articles written by authorities in a
wide range of fields. Source for identifying significant social, demographic, technological
trends accompanied by informed forecasts. The Futurist also reports on methods of using
information about future possibilities in decision-making.
Technology Review. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bimonthly.
Consistently delivers informed commentary on future technologies and their social
impact.
The following periodicals are worth scanning for trends, clues, and ideas.
Wired
Business 2.0
Fast Company
Fortune
Articles and Conference Proceedings
Weingand, Darene E. Futures Research Methodologies: Linking Today’s Decisions with
Tomorrow’s Possibilities. 61st IFLA General Conference Proceedings, August 20-25,
1995. http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla61/61-weid.htm. Scholarly treatment of futuring
methodologies as a tool for decision-makers. Weingand recommends futures research as
a strategy for understanding change. Moreover, futuring develops perspectives and
orientations that have pragmatic advantages over haphazard or intuitive approaches to the
future.
Rea, Nancy, Stacey Aldrich, and Jill Emery. Scenario-Building: Creating Your Library’s
Future. Serials Librarian, 38:1/2, 200. p. 15-22.
Wilkinson, Lawrence. How to Build Scenarios. Wired.
http://www.wired.com/wired/scenarios/build.html
Web Sites
www.futurist.com. The most extensive source of free information for the public on future
trends, issues, and techniques.
Institute for Alternative Futures. The Future Belongs to Those Who...: A Guide for
Thinking About the Future. http://www.altfutures.com/futurestechniques.pdf. Succinct
description of futuring techniques and their relevance to strategic thinking in
organizations. Good primer for developing integrated approach to futuring and planning.
Institute for the Future. Fascinating "2005 Map of the Decade" and "Ten-Year Forecast
Perspectives" are downloadable at http://www.iftf.org/features/library.html
Foresight and Futures Activities for Libraries, Library Associations, and Archivists
(including selection of interesting scenarios) from Infinite Futures.
http://www.infinitefutures.com/essays/lead4.shtml.
Idaho‟s Library Future, 2006-2020. http://www.lili.org/futures/2020vision-document.pdf
"In August 2005, the Idaho Library community gathered in a unique „Think Tank‟ to
consider the future of libraries. Representatives of Idaho libraries met over three days to
propose a future vision. Working with several science fiction writers, experts on future
trends and libraries, and facilitated by planning expert and futurist Glen Hiemstra, Think
Tank participants explored long-range trends, discussed alternate future scenarios for
Idaho libraries, and proposed ideas for a long-range vision."
www.josephcoates.com. Consulting futurist and mentor to leading strategic thinkers,
Coates offers articles, commentary, and forecasts on a broad range of topics. Features an
“ask the futurist” forum.
http://www.lita.org/ala/lita/litaresources/toptechtrends/toptechnology.htm. The Library
and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of ALA, maintains an
authoritative top tech trends web site. It includes a “Futurespeak” preface by Tom Wilson
on the value of a futures perspective.
I wish to thank Stacey Aldrich, Eric Garland, Glen Hiemstra, Laurie Putnam, and Dr.
Wendy Jacobs for their contributions to this resource list.