Our library profession is changing dramatically, largely due to the forces unleashed by major advances in computing, networking, and storage technology. We are at a juncture where the library and librarian must ask how they will embrace and use these new technologies. From a business perspective, we know that the three interrelated concepts of competition, technological discontinuities, and innovation are having more and more relevance for the library. This paper suggests that libraries are losing market share and that we can address external threats from competition through unique partnerships and technological innovation.
Translation of “Technological Discontinuities in the Library: Digital Opportunities that Illustrate New Opportunities for the Librarian and the Library”, de Ronald C. Jantz, in IFLA Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2001), pp. 74-77. Translated by Lozano Palacios, A, with the collaboration of the students of Faculty of Library and Information Science, University of Granada.