For immediate release:
October 20, 2010
For more information, contact:
Karla Strieb
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
karla@arl.org
Washington DC--The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) opens registration for a free webcast scheduled for November 4, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT. This webcast, "An Introduction to Using the ARL 2030 Scenarios for Research Library Planning," will introduce the ARL 2030 Scenarios: A User’s Guide for Research Libraries. The presentation will highlight the ways in which leaders and planners can use the scenarios to enhance their own thinking about the dynamics that shape the future of research libraries and how to integrate scenario-planning techniques into their libraries’ planning activities.
Scenario planning techniques reframe planning attention from the false security of prediction to a balanced consideration of risk. The “ARL 2030 Scenario Set” was developed to answer the question, “How do we transform our organization(s) to create differential value for future users (individuals, institutions, and beyond), given the external dynamics redefining the research environment over the next 20 years?” The four scenarios were created by ARL members for ARL members to use in advancing organizational planning for their local institutional setting.
During the 90-minute event, participants will be introduced to basic concepts of scenario planning and will be provided with an overview of the ARL scenario set and some of their strategic implications for libraries. The contents of the user’s guide will be reviewed, along with options for integrating scenario planning into organizations with different planning strategies and timelines. The webcast will also offer opportunities for participants to ask questions in real time.
Presenters:
Susan Stickley, President, Stratus Inc. and Consultant for “ARL on Envisioning Research Library Futures: A Scenario Thinking Project”
Catherine Murray-Rust, Dean and Director of Libraries, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jason Charron, Director, Corporate Services and Strategic Initiatives, National Research Council
The archive for this webcast is now available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSUynutYC3g
ARL 2030 Scenarios: A User’s Guide for Research Libraries is freely available at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-2030-scenarios-users-guide.pdf. More information on the ARL project, “Envisioning Research Library Futures: A Scenario Thinking Project” can be found at http://www.arl.org/rtl/plan/scenarios/.
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at http://www.arl.org/.