Choose one of the resources above and write a 400 word analysis that addresses the following issues:
What is the potential for the future of an organisation you are familiar with?
What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?
The future is going to involve what is titled The Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will involve the physical, digital and biology merging together to create new progress and pathways (Msauki, 2021, p. 34). It is the process of incorporating our lives into the digital and augmented and thus becoming somewhat of a hybrid community in order to progress as a society.
Narrowing down, information professionals will be needing to use resources such as augmented reality, maker spaces, open-source technology, big data, context-aware technology, state-of-the-art display and blockchain features (Msauki, 2021, p. 34). Some of these are described in detail later on.
Regarding the future of the video game organizations (such as Xbox, Nintendo, Playstation and other game developers), there are profound changes in store regarding technology and user behaviour. One of the most obvious changes will be the use of artificial intelligence. To some degree, AI already plays a role in video gaming, but with future technology reaching developers, enemies are going to be all the more realistic, while players will play in environments that will appear like real life, perhaps using virtual reality goggles or other technology (Rakheja, 2018, p. 2).
Another advancement in technology for videogamers in the future will be the art of stereoscopic 3D, which is the process of wearing eyewear that will create a 3d space before you in a virtual reality world (Arun et al., 2018, para. 3). By using these goggles, everything is far more realistic, and it actually feels as though you are at the scene.
Now to the future of libraries, and what they can do to remain relevant. It is common knowledge that the digital revolution has changed the shape of libraries forever. However, libraries are still places highly necessary in contemporary society. Take, for instance, the four themes that Evans states will be the future of the library: experience, involvement, empowerment, and innovation (Evans, 2017, para. 3). With a library shaped to represent these themes, patrons will arrive there to find meaning in life, to collaborate with others, to work on innovative ideas, and express creativity. It will be a shared space to find inspiration, become empowered, participate in events and become involved in groups (Evans, 2017, para. 3).
Library 4.0 will be bringing together the unskilled with the skilled, the inexperienced with the experienced, and the interested with the excited. It’s a place that will need to harness the idea of sustainable technologies, to ensure it is competing in a harmonious way with the values of the sustainable society (Msauki, 2021, p. 33). It will be a greener, more efficient, and less wasteful era, where mostly everything is digitized and resources are gained frugally, with technology such as cloud sharing which offers a lot at little cost.
With the future changing dramatically, libraries, and all other organizations will need to adapt to disruptive technologies and embrace positive changes in order to thrive in the new digital world.
References
Arun K., Kulshreshth, J., & LaViola, J. (2018). Summary and conclusion. In Designing immersive video games using 3dui technologies improving the gamer’s user experience. Springer International Publishing.
Evans, W. (2017). The end of wisdom?: The Four Spaces of the Public Library. In The end of wisdom?: the future of libraries in a digital age. Chandos Publishing.
Msauki, G. (2021). Library 4.0 and sustainable development: Opportunities and challenges. In J. P. Chigwada & N. M. Nwaohiri (Eds.), Examining the impact of industry 4.0 on academic libraries. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Rakheja, J. (2018). Artificial intelligence: The future of gaming. Gurgaon: Athena Information Solutions Pvt. Ltd https://primo.csu.edu.au/permalink/61CSU_INST/15aovd3/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_2115988548
2 Comments
Thanks for your post Sean. I find it very interesting to read about The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the impacts it will have to Library 4.0. It really is a fast paced information world we live in considering we are currently in Library 2.0! It is interesting to reflect on what Library 4.0 will look like. Your comments that it will bring together the unskilled with the skilled, the inexperienced with the experienced, and the interested with the excited excites me as I feel as future information professionals we have so many opportunities to connect patrons with each other and the world through information in innovative ways.
I was also excited to read about the sustainable impact and environmental footprint future libraries will have and how I hadn’t really thought about how the positive impacts mass digitisation contribute towards a more sustainable society. It is pleasing to read your comments that libraries will be a greener, more efficient, and less wasteful area, where mostly everything is digitized and resources are gained frugally, with technology such as cloud sharing which offers a lot at little cost.
The future of the Library 4.0 does look bright. Keeping abreast with technological changes is a priority of information professionals and like you I feel it is packed with many exciting and innovative opportunities.
Thanks Michelle for having a read, and I must say your response was intelligent, informative and well thought-out. Absolutely, the future will bring about innovation in the world of the information professional, as you say. 🙂