We Can Imagine the Future, But Are We Equipped to Create It?

Abstract

This special issue of portal: Libraries and the Academy explores the possibilities of what academic libraries might become or cease to be in a speculative future. Experts from different sectors of the academic library ecosystem were asked to share their visions of the future, with the intention of providing insights that might fuel the creation of vital futures for academic libraries and librarians. The author argues for a future focus on developing the metacognitive capacities of the people who make up academic libraries in order to build effective, growth-oriented, resilient organizations that can actually create the futures they imagine.