John Palfrey: A Future for Libraries

John Palfrey, Chair of the DPLA Steering Committee, recently gave a speech titled A Future for Libraries as part of the October 2011 MobilityShifts summit at The New School in New York City. MobilityShifts, which formed part of The New School’s “The Politics of Digital Culture” conference series, addressed a wide range of topics related to learning in a mobile world. Some of the major themes organizing the event included digital fluencies, learning beyond the traditional boundaries of “school,” digital learning projects from around the world, and policy issues. In this twenty-six minute talk, Palfrey discusses the past, present, and future of the Digital Public Library of America. Along the way, he touches upon the cultural dissonance between libraries’ increased importance in the 21st century on the one hand, and the near constant battle to resist decreased funding on the other; the democratic notion of “free to all” in a contemporary marketplace of licenses and leases; and the process of truly connecting the physical library space with the virtual.

To see more videos from the MobilityShifts summit, visit The Politics of Digital Culture vimeo.

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