Forum: Twenty-First-Century Libraries

TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY LIBRARIES/HNRC 300VH-004 (11304)
M 5:00-6:15 p.m., SPRING 2023

No application is required for this course.

Note: This is a one-credit course. Only register for one hour of course credit.

Questions?  Contact  John Treat . 

While dusty shelves and leather-bound volumes of lore may come to mind when thinking of libraries, the libraries of the twenty-first century are much more than simple repositories of the written word. This forum will examine the current state of American libraries and ask students to imagine what comes next for these public institutions. 

The 21st century library employs people with talent and interest across a broad range of disciplines, and skills such as teaching, marketing, digital design, architecture, handling finances, immersive technologies and building community relations, which can make one a valuable member of a library’s team. This forum will provide you with an opportunity to see how interests and skills can combine with modern libraries and provide hands-on experience with real-world challenges.

About Jay McAllister

Jay McAllister is the Engineering and Honors College librarian at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Texas. His recent publications have focused on comparing research database platforms and mapping engineering publications using the data visualization software VOSviewer. His research interests are the future of academic libraries, data visualization, and the integration of immersive and makerspace tech like VR/AR, 3d printing and Arduino into libraries. Jay is heavily interested in the future scope and opportunity libraries have and how data and technology can be incorporated into library services. Jay seeks active collaborators who want to integrate library objectives or assignments with coursework, have interest in incorporating immersive tech in libraries, as well as data network visualization of research publications. In his spare time, Jay likes to play video games, cooking, landscaping and gardening.