I agree that this report is worth reading. The well-written introduction contrasts the orderliness of the library world with the chaos of the Internet and promises to "
serve as a tour guide through the landscape that chaos and order inhabit together."
I have only read the section on the Library Landscape. A major theme that emerges is the increase in the amount of collaboration, largely enabled by digital collections and electronic management of all collections. ILL reduces the need to maintain redundant collections, and collaborative efforts (like WebJunction
) fuel the reality of spending less time reinventing the wheel.
As for the Reference librarian, I don't see the need diminishing. In fact, the increasing amount of unstructured information (= chaos) does seem to spawn that "desperation for a guide" you speak of. Unfortunately, many information consumers don't know they are lost or don't know how much richer their information search could be. Reference librarians need to do more to market themselves (like the Elsevier ad) as key players in the team, not just answering quick facts, but helping users to pursue more sustained investigations into the information wilderness.
I see an opportunity for collaboration with the explosion of e-learning resources. It would seem that people who are receiving an education online could really benefit from the virtual reference services of a library. Partnerships between libraries and e-learning companies would enhance the learning experience and solidify the idea that librarians have valuable tools for access to knowledge, whether digital or physical.
All that said (long-winded, I know), I would not advocate abandoning the physical presence of the reference librarian. There still are plenty of people who like to talk to a human face. Just as the libraries did not empty out when information went digital, the desire for a nuanced, real-time reference interview/exchange is not going away in the near future.
