The World Continues to Flatten

Damn, it’s tough to be so prescient sometimes. Especially when it makes one feel like a Cassandra, predicting gloom and doom. And it’s even worse to have one’s predictions seem to come about when encountering something quite wonderful.

In the the Letter from the Flat World Library Corporation (October 7), I suggested online 24/7 library reference service would be a part of a total “outsourced” library solution to schools.

Guess what? Maryland’s AskUsNow is already offering this service to its state’s students. It looks like a fantastic project and great resource for students and I applaud Marylanders for it’s conception and execution.

I just hope that the Maryland librarians who provide this service aren’t outsourced!

Oh, others have asked where the ideas for the Letter from the Flat World Library Corporation came from. Here are a few of the gathering clouds:

• All the stuff in Thomas Friedman’s book, of course.
• Businesses and law firms outsourcing their library services to places like the James J Hill Reference Library.
• Vendors creating large content packages, all electronic, tied directly to state standards.
• Schools going “textbook free” in conjunction with laptop projects.

Again, we as a profession need to be prepared when the real letter lands on the sup’s desk. How does one justify one’s existence in a flat world? We’d better be putting our heads together on this one.