The Purpose
The Division of Library Development and Services, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) hosted the eVisioning 4.0 Conference: The Future for Maryland Libraries, at Annapolis, Maryland, on January 10 and 11, 2007. The purpose of the Conference was for the Maryland library community to create and own an optimistic future for Maryland libraries.
The Participants
Over one hundred conference participants represented the following stakeholder groups of the Maryland library community: public libraries, academic libraries, K-12 school libraries, special needs libraries, library educators and students, library trustees and friends, professional library organizations, and MSDE staff.
The Approach
On the first day, the participants focused on validating the core purpose of libraries, building a shared understanding of Maryland's future operating environment, and learning about the perspectives of library customers. On the second day, participants envisioned possible futures for Maryland libraries and developed ideas for the LSTA strategic plan needs assessment.
The Results
This report documents the proceedings of the eVisioning 4.0 conference. Conference participants are encouraged to share the results with colleagues and, if desired, continue the dialogue in pursuit of achieving an optimistic future for Maryland libraries. following are the vision topic areas explored by the participants: