In talking to one of our leading academics recently about the Information Futures Commission I was lamenting the fact that feedback was only slowly trickling in. He said something that made me pause and think – his words were something like “We know this stuff is really important…it’s just that we don’t know what to do about it”.
I suspect this is a view held by many- it certainly looks pretty complex from my perspective and I’ve had the chance to immerse myself in this for several months! But as the management textbooks will tell you, making no choice is, in fact, making a choice.
We have a rare opportunity to imagine the scholarly information future we would like to create. It IS difficult and complex. We live in a world which is characterised by rapid and unpredictable technological change and there is no sign that this will abate. But I am a firm believer in our ability to shape our destiny.
I want to encourage you to provide your great ideas, your concerns and your idle thoughts, no matter how unsure you are about them, so we can shape the best possible future for our University. I look forward to reading them!
Linda