Voices From The Past Reflecting On The Future (Number 1): Charles Beldon & The Unification of Knowledge

By Brian Mathews. Are we preoccupied with the future? There appears to be a steady stream of articles, books, blog posts, webinars, conference presentations, and other media centered on this theme. It seems we are all fairly focused on what’s next.
I’m guilty myself; the future can be intoxicating. This week I want to offer perspective from a different set of voices. A recent project took me deep into the archives of library lit and along the way I discovered some interesting speculation about the future from librarians in the past. Each day this week I’ll highlight a different visionary who helped shape the profession. More...