What will academic libraries look like in 2025 and beyond?

Teams of Trojan futurists unveiled their predictions before an audience of 100 at the Library of the Future ceremony. The teams competed for an all-expense-paid trip to the Bay Area for next month’s USC-Cal game.

The grand prize-winning Team Acer included USC School of Architecture students Anupam Jain and Anamika Singla and USC Viterbi School of Engineering students Anisha Agarwal and Anuradha Mohan. Their vision described a library that will promote cooperative learning and provide the “backbone of education.”

Friends of the USC Libraries board members Dick and Bryn DeBeikes conceived of the Oct. 12 contest as a way for students to participate in the future of this vital aspect of their education. As both USC alums and parents, they chose Parents Weekend for the awards ceremony.

“What better resource than to use the creative intelligence of our students?” said Dick DeBeikes, who is closely involved in university planning for 2025.

“Libraries foster innovation and nurture the limitless imaginations of USC students and faculty,” DeBeikes said. “Students are our future innovators, and – through the contest –we hope they will make a lasting impact on the campus libraries.”

The quality of the entries impressed the panel of contest judges – USC School of Architecture professor Christoph Kapeller, online news producer and USC alum Jenn McBride from local TV stations CBS 2 and KCAL 9 and USC Libraries senior associate dean Marje Schuetze-Coburn.

Kapeller, who designed the Bibliotheca Alexandrina – the new library at Alexandria, Egypt – as well as the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Seoul Performing Arts Center in Korea, said, “All three presentations were terrific.”

Comparing the entries to the ideas that international experts put forward at conferences about the future of libraries, he said, “Many people are thinking and going in the same directions as our students. In 10 or 20 years, I think we’ll recognize in our libraries many of the elements we saw here today.”

Team Acer began from the premise that advances in information technology increase the need for face-to-face social contact. Team leader Jain said, “We wanted to focus on how libraries could contribute to the bonding of people. Libraries must be more than just spaces; they must also be places.”

Given the dramatic growth of digital-information sharing, the team members seriously considered the future role of physical library buildings. However, Agarwal said, “We soon realized that libraries have a future. After all, we were meeting in Leavey Library to discuss the question.”

Team Acer also drew inspiration from the present-day USC Libraries. Reflecting on their hopes for the libraries of tomorrow, Agarwal said, “The first thing we thought of was Leavey Library and how to make it even better in the future.”

“It feels so good to win,” Mohan said. “We’re happy the libraries gave us the opportunity to play a role in shaping their future.”

The teams presented distinctive visions at the ceremony, but a few common themes emerged: sustainable architecture with flexible, multi-use spaces, increased use of natural light and outdoor areas such as rooftop gardens.

In addition, students saw common elements in the libraries of today and the libraries of tomorrow. For example, the teams believed that librarians would continue to mentor students – guiding them to resources and teaching them how to gauge the reliability of information sources.

According to students, books also would remain an iconic feature of libraries’ identities. In fact, two teams used massive bookshelves as architectural elements that harkened to the historic mission of libraries.

Dean Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries saw the contest in light of current efforts to invigorate the libraries’ role in teaching and research at USC.

Quinlan said, “We’re here to celebrate – and learn from – the creative vision of some of our talented students.”

“Building a truly great library,” she added, “requires more than simply introducing new technology to the same types of buildings. It also demands that we rethink how we use library spaces to encourage collaborative learning and inspire an eagerness for discovery.”

Trojan parents enjoyed the showcase of student innovation and the chance to see what lies ahead for libraries at USC.

Benjamin Si traveled from Hong Kong to visit his son Gabriel, a freshman neuroscience major. He said, “It was exciting seeing the students’ work. It was in tune with the way a lot of smart people are thinking about combining technology with spaces that preserve the human touch.”

The winning entries can be viewed at www.usc.edu/libraries/future