I didn’t make up the title - it’s an Exposure Draft produced by National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA). (PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT FOOT OF THIS POST )

It is a look into how these libraries will cope with future service demands and encourage “flexibility, rapid response and innovation within the library sector”. It is just 4 pages long and worth reading - especially if you would like to give feedback on the document. They welcome this until 12 May 2008. The email address is: [email protected]

Here are a couple of excerpts from the document: The Big Bang: Creating the new library universe .

New technologies are impacting on every aspect of libraries. We have responded by implementing an extraordinary range of continuous improvement and innovative projects, building on the foundation of decades of collaborative technology and standards. We have created new services and made key parts of our collections available globally.

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We are now in a position to explode and reshape our core services, resourcing and infrastructure; to explore radical new approaches across all parts of our work; and to fundamentally shift our libraries to the digital world. Our response to the environment is maturing and we must re-examine our collections; the services we provide to library users; our preservation and digitisation responsibilities; operational priorities; and workforce planning.

I liked these key points:

• Access is our primary driver.
• Digital is mainstream.
• No job will be unchanged.
• New web technologies and community digital content are shaping user expectations and behaviour.
• Some things we have always done, we will no longer do.
• Experimentation and risk are necessary.
• People want services and spaces to be welcoming and easy to use. They want to be independent.

UPDATE: 1 MAY 2008. The Big Bang document is actually the preliminary document to a much more comprehensive Exposure document Re-Imaging Library Services: strategic plan . See the next post, Update on the Big Bang: Re-imagining the Library for more information