KUALA LUMPUR: Libraries will continue to exist and remain relevant in the future regardless of how their functions have evolved over time, say experts.
Chief Librarian of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) Mazmin Mat Akhir said libraries in the future are supposed to be different in all the ways when compared to now.
"The library is a living mechanism, so it is constantly changing in many ways, which is in its outlook, physical design, the digital experience and so on."
"The future library will still remain in the community's heart and continue to serve the public."
"Maybe in the future, academic libraries will have more coffee shops, souvenir stores, a boutique, advanced technology types of equipment and perhaps a group of community members that do any activity that they want to do at the library that contributes to the development of the economy," she said.
She adds that Malaysia's library will need to do more in the future, apart from merely conserve and archive materials for the benefit of the global community.
Mazmin said a library should also reflect the nation's civilisation and that the future library will have a diverse range of technology and users.
Another panellist, retired Professor of Library and Information Science at Universiti Malaya Dr Diljit Singh said that in order to achieve the objectives and development, librarians played a crucial role and were entrusted with continuously adapting their services and policies to keep up with these changes in real time.
"In most public school libraries, the teacher itself is the one who handles and manages the library, whereas in private school libraries they are professional and classified school librarians."
"School librarians need to have a relevant qualification. Public school libraries work under different sets of programs and instructions, but private school libraries are free to do as they want and they normally have international format or information."
"Librarians need to become important thought leaders. We cannot think local, we need to think global and beyond the borders to look at worldwide scenarios. We need to critically think about this in order for us to get prepared to do things that the local community will appreciate in the future," he said.
Dr Diljit said he is optimistic and believes that libraries will still be around in the future, despite the differences and changes, and that it is up to the community to decide how a library will meet their needs.
"I believe the future for libraries is bright. Therefore, libraries need to be involved in society to make sure no one is left behind."
The one Talk titled "Libraries of the future" was hosted by Malaysian Book Industry Chamber chairman Keith Thong and moderated by Dr Nor Edzan Che Nazir from Librarians Association of Malaysia (PPM) at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur in line with Kl International Book Fair yesterday.
Senior Librarian of Nobel International School Dr Mayasari Abdul Majid said technology and social media are also essential for the growth of libraries.
"In our field, technology and social media play a crucial role. Technology has grown in our daily lives as all information is accessible on the internet."
"It is important that librarians utilise it wisely in order to market the library, build networking with other libraries and organisations, generate digital content, electronic subscriptions such as e-books and more."
"We need to become more tech-savvy in response to the changing times to help move libraries in embracing these broader and more technologically advanced trends in the future," she said.