Austin, Texas
May 18-20, 1994

The Research Library the Day After Tomorrow

Foreword

Society has always dreamed of the comprehensive library. Through the ages the vision has changed from rows of carefully stored papyrus scrolls, to monastic collections of luxuriously illustrated manuscripts, to monumental edifices housing miles of book stacks. In the later 20th century, our imaginations embrace pixels dancing in the ether, combining and recombining to alight directly at the desktop of the seeker for information. Jorge Luis Borges wrote, "...the universe, with its elegant endowment of shelves, of enigmatic volumes, of indefatigable ladders for the voyager...can only be the work of a god." Undoubtedly, in the next epoch our descendants will assimilate information through special goggles, holograms, or telepathy.

In this closing decade of the 20th century, we live in an age of in-between. We have a few papyrus scrolls, many manuscripts, millions of books, and now countless electrons. The common wisdom is that in our future we will have both the old books and the new electronic information. It is likely so, but should research librarians take comfort and assurance from the fact that printed books will remain with us for a long time? As our more reflective thinkers tell us, the new electronic technologies cannot fail to transform existing institutions, societies, and cultures.

What will some of those changes be? How should we incorporate the changes into the mission and services of research libraries? What are the most critical matters for us to reflect upon as we plan for the research libraries the day after tomorrow? What services do our faculty and scholars want from the great academic and research libraries? Specifically, what new kinds of research and scholarship are some of our continent's leading humanists and scientists producing? What lessons may we take from our fellow-travelers in other fields of librarianship?

The 124th meeting of the Association of Research Libraries offers five program sessions to directly address the Day After Tomorrow. The ARL Board and the program planners hope that the ideas, discussions, and inspiration of the meeting will energize participants to even greater activity and innovation in what is surely a sublime window of opportunity for research institutions.