Revisiting Changes, Trends, and Values: Futures Thinking for Libraries

Let’s take another look at how library professionals can use futures thinking in their work. Thinking about the future begins with the study of change: looking across changes in our organizations, environments, and the broader global context. We’ll consider the sustained trends that point to possible futures.

By opening ourselves to a variety of changes, we can find ways to engage the skills and interests of library staff and supporters to create greater connections across trends and build a series of possible forecasts.

Our professional values and the value that we provide to communities help us prioritize specific trends based on their immediate impact on libraries and relevance to the specific needs of a community. The session will end with a look at how you might use trends-thinking in practice.

After participating in this webinar, you’ll be able to:

• Scan the professional, social, and cultural contexts to identify sustained trends and their effects on library services
• Engage library staff and allies to create and work from community-specific future forecasts
• Use trends-thinking in practice