Bold New Vision

Task force charged with reinventing the research library

By Brigham Fay on December 4, 2015 in All news

Task-force-lightbulbA new task force has begun engaging the MIT community in a discussion about the future of libraries. At the request of Provost Martin Schmidt, MIT Libraries Director Chris Bourg will lead an ad hoc group composed of faculty, staff, and students to develop what Schmidt called “a bold new vision for a library system,” one that might help define “new models for a modern, innovative research library.”

With the goal of issuing a report by the end of the 2015 –2016 academic year, the Ad Hoc Task Force on the Future of Libraries will solicit input from key stakeholders and subject matter experts in considering a wide range of topics, including:

  • The development of innovative platforms and tools for discovering, accessing, and preserving information
  • The optimal role and design of physical library spaces at MIT
  • The function of tangible collections in the life of the Institute
  • The relationship of MIT libraries to the global library community
  • Ways to leverage libraries to MIT’s competitive advantage in the recruitment of new faculty and researchers and to attract prospective students

The task force, said Bourg, represents a unique opportunity for the MIT community to strategize about “the role of libraries in the context of transformative changes in higher education, technology, publishing, and research.”

For more information, visit future-of-libraries.mit.edu