Library In The 21st Century – Estonian Librarians’ Vision of the Future and Library Service Evaluation Model

Abstract

„Library in the 21st century“ was the most important project led by the Estonian Librarians Association that involved the whole library community. The project fulfilled its intended purpose to find a common focus for the future of all library types in Estonia, and try to understand and find a common ground for future roles of libraries. Many changes in the society need to be considered as they affect the work that libraries do. Workshops and group discussions took place to find answers to questions such as what makes a library a good library; what are the basic services that should be present at every library; what would be the role of a library in 2030? As a result of the discussions, the challenges faced by Estonian libraries in the near future were pinned down in black and white along with possible directions of development and plans for the near future. All of this was initiated by the librarians themselves. As a result of the discussions, we created a Vision Document “Library on the 21st century”. Our vision is value-based which could be expected of a library as an important pillar of culture in a society. Wise citizens are reading citizens. As a further development of the vision document, a model was developed for evaluating public library services. The vision aims to support the development of libraries so that they are accessible and available, popularize reading and shape reading habits, strategically managed, offer development opportunities, smart and innovative, environmentally conscious and responsible, and actively involve communities. Survey participants were asked to rate the current state of the library in the above areas. The Vision Document would serve as an exemplary model for future strategic decision making while serving as a possibility to contribute and influence library politics.