Update: Archive link added below.

Remember Joan Frye-Williams from last year’s Fall Assembly? She’ll be co-delivering a webinar with George Needham next month, on Tuesday, September 13, on “Libraries in a Post-Print World,” through the Infopeople organization. The webinar is free. Please see the below information for times, further information, and registration/webinar access information.

Archive Link: http://infopeople.org/training/libraries-post-print-world

Date:  Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Start Time: 2:00 pm, Central Time

Presenters:  George Needham and Joan Frye Williams

Sponsored by: Infopeople

More information: Information and access links to the program

This webinar will last approximately one hour. Webinars are free of charge and registration is ONLY done on the day of the event on the WebEx server. No Passwords are required. Please go to this page for Tips and Registration Information.

What does the library without books look like? We can argue all day about whether or not printed books will eventually become obsolete. Or we can wonder how libraries and librarians will continue to serve their communities if they do.  In this thought-provoking webinar, consultants Joan Frye Williams and George Needham will explore the challenges and opportunities presented by a “post-print” world.

It’s no small feat to change an existing brand, and the library brand has always been “books.” Library shelves may not be devoid of paper any time soon, but if alternative reading formats continue to be adopted at current rates, we’ll need to realign and rebrand our services or risk going the way of the dodo.

This is not a webinar about how to add eBooks to your collection; this is a webinar about how to re-imagine and articulate the importance of what we can do in our communities.

George and Joan think we should be talking about questions like these:

  • How can we focus on accessing content instead of controlling containers?
  • How can we define “librarian” around skills and principles rather than collections and facilities?
  • How can we be accountable when circulation statistics have lost their meaning?
  • How can we make radical changes in our traditions, tools, and techniques?

George and Joan believe that it can be enlightening to entertain an idea even if you don’t accept it.  Whatever your view of the future, you’ll want to join this conversation!

This webinar will be of interest to anyone interested in the future of libraries.

Do you require an accommodation?

Closed captioning will be provided upon request. For this service, please notify ipweb@infopeople.org at least 3 days before the webinar.

If you are unable to attend the live event, you can access the archived version the day following the webinar on the Infopeople website. Check the Infopeople archive listing.

Adapted from an Infopeople announcement.

Image Credit: “empty library” by Flickr user stu_spivack under a Creative Commons license.