The End of Wisdom? The Future of Libraries in a Digital Age assembles opinion pieces, forecasts, strategy options, and case studies from leading worldwide politicians, academics, educators, authors, publishers, captains of industry, senior public sector workers, library directors, IT gurus and other key players in the field of information provision who discuss their views on the hypothesis surrounding the "end of libraries" and the "death of books." The contributions – ranging in length from 500 to 2000 words are analyzed and summarized to create a rich picture of current trends and likely futures for libraries of all types, with digital options discussed in detail.
- Focuses on the key issue facing library and information services for the foreseeable future
- Takes a much broader view by asking a wide range of key people and representative stakeholders and user groups for their view of the future of libraries of all kinds
- Presents a comprehensive analysis of likely directions and options for libraries, library managers, and users
- Includes a route map for the future
- Builds on the successful approaches adopted in A Handbook of Digital Library Economics and Libraries and Society
Wendy Evans is the Head of Library at the University of St. Mark and St John, UK. She has published and lectured in the field of electronic journal and database usage, access versus ownership of journals, and has already co-edited and co-authored four books with David Baker.
Professor David Baker has over 30 years’ experience in higher education, including as Principal and Chief Executive of Plymouth Marjon University, and as Deputy Chair of the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc).
He holds a Chair in Strategic Information Management from Plymouth Marjon University. His degrees include an MLS, a PhD and an MBA. He also holds fellowships from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the Chartered Management Institute and the Royal Society of Arts.
He has written widely in the field of library and information management with 20 monographs and over 100 articles to his credit. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Major Reference Work titled
Encyclopedia of Libraries, Librarianship, and Information Science (Elsevier, 2025)