The digital transformation has challenged the traditional notion of public libraries. The idea that technologies are a force of “disruptive innovation” in the library sector has been discussed in the academic literature and the wider press (Tait, Martzoukou & Reid 2016). Today, people get their information online: with the introduction of the Internet, the volume of online information now exceeds that available in every physical library in the world.
Nowadays users are getting used to the digital transformation and want to re-elaborate digital contents and not only consult them in a passive way. Therefore, librarians should be prepared to facilitate and even promote the creative use of digital archives for the production of new digital contents that can be accessed through multiple tools and technologies (e.g. AR & VR, Open data platforms, apps, etc.). Libraries have not met this digital demand. Many of those developments have called into question what the role of physical libraries is (or should be) in the 21st century.
With BIBLIO, we are implementing several research activities that involve librarians and educational stakeholders in defining the training needs of the present and future library professionals within the realm of the digital transformation!
