The British Library, the national library of the United Kingdom, has announced the launch of its 2020 Vision, which sets out the library's priorities and aspirations for the next decade. The vision highlights what are likely to be the key trends and opportunities over the next ten years, indicating how the British Library plans to take advantage of those opportunities to remain a major hub of the global information network. Dame Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library, announced the vision during her keynote speech at the Independent Woodstock Literary Festival.
The vision outlines five key themes that set out the priorities for the British Library: to guarantee access for future generations; to enable access for everyone who wants to do research; to support research communities in key areas for social and economic benefit; to enrich the cultural life of the nation; and to lead and collaborate in growing the world's knowledge base. The website at www.bl.uk/2020vision features the full text of the vision, along with a video foreword by Dame Lynne Brindley and illustrative video clips for each of the key themes. It also links to the discussion documents, reports by Library specialists and detailed methodologies that underpin the 2020 Vision.
The experts consulted by the Library provided a range of views on what the world of 2020 would look like. According to Dame Lynne, only 25 percent of all titles worldwide will be published in print form alone by the year 2020. Seventy-five percent will only be published digitally, or in both digital and print form. She further noted that as use of mobile devices become ubiquitous, users will expect seamless access to information and services, and will assume that everything is available on the web.
The 2020 Vision website encourages visitors to offer their feedback on the Library's plans, and also join the debate via Twitter (hashtag: #BL2020vision).
As the national library of the UK, the British Library seeks to provide world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The British Library's collections include 150 million items from every era of written human history beginning with Chinese oracle bones dating from 300 BC, right up to the latest e-journals.
To access our daily STM news feed through your iPhone, iPad, or other smartphones, please visit www.myscoope.com for a mobile friendly reading experience.
