Can we see the future of cultural heritage?

Unfortunately, no, we cannot see the future, but we can predict it.

IFLA launched our 2024 Trend Report at the IIFS in September, and with it, we launched a global conversation on the future of the field. This report does not only look at library trends. Rather, it explores broader trends in how people are accessing, using, and sharing information and knowledge.

So that leads back to the question: can we predict the future of cultural heritage? For documentary heritage in particular, how do these trends affect how we safeguard it – and also how we provide access to it – and what can this mean for society?

This article will start a conversation on what the 2024 IFLA Trend Report might mean for documentary heritage, and the libraries who preserve and provide access to it. It will also provide some ideas for actions you can take to address the trends in your practice.

Trend 1: Knowledge practices are changing

Key points include:
  • Recognition of a growing demand for diverse, culturally representative content.
  • The urgent need for strategies to combat misinformation threatening democratic trust and public health.
  • Concerns over accessibility and equity in digital media silos.
  • The challenge of balanced regulation to prevent censorship while ensuring security and transparency.
  • The rise of data personalisation and short-form video, which risks narrowing exposure to varied information.
Opportunities for cultural heritage:
  • Employ heritage collections as a means to diversify the stories being told, and the voices that are being heard.
  • Photographs and audiovisual materials could be applied to enrich new stories, making them usable by media, documentarians, storytellers and artists, who can bring them to life in new ways.
  • Mis- and disinformation makes primary sources worth their weight in gold. Explore how to address social challenges with items in the collection. What can these items tells us about the nature of our world today?
  • Apply cultural collections as new forms of knowledge. Think of what they could mean for research and policymaking in unexpected areas – could they be climate knowledge? Urban planning knowledge? Think boldly!
  • Think of new ways to engage audiences with cultural heritage collections, including in advertising or educating on special exhibitions. Could you use short-form video to bring your collection to life in new ways?

 Trend 2: AI and other technologies are transforming society

Key points include:
  • The risks and opportunities of Generative AI are complex, but will significantly impact content creation, education, job automation, language translation and more.
  • Global investment in AI is substantial
  • As Generative AI becomes more integrated into daily life, it raises concerns about data integrity and the inclusion of diverse knowledge.
  • The rise of deepfakes and AI-generated content poses serious challenges for misinformation, requiring robust regulatory frameworks to protect copyright and promote truthful information dissemination.
  • The metaverse offers opportunities for inclusive digital experiences but also risks replicating existing access and security challenges present in current digital technologies.
  • The development of digital twins showcases potential for preserving cultural identity while also raising privacy and ethical concerns.
 Opportunities for cultural heritage:
  • Push for the development of culturally and linguistically representative content online as a response to gaps identified by generative AI, thereby fostering the preservation, digitisation, and promotion of cultural heritage materials.
  • Address the challenges posed by misinformation, particularly from deepfakes and AI-generated content, by enlisting documentary heritage to preserve the integrity of cultural narratives and historical accounts, and prevent the homogenization of cultural expressions.
  • Explore how you could use the metaverse to create immersive cultural experiences that allow users to explore and connect with heritage.
  • Advocate for robust cybersecurity measures to protect the knowledge and heritage your library safeguards in the face of increasing cyber security threats.

 Trend #7: People are seeking community connections.

Key points include:
  • Social cohesion is strained and community ties are weakened, social isolation and loneliness are increasingly prevalent, especially among older adults and adolescents, posing significant health risks.
  • Addressing loneliness requires customised interventions and local, place-based initiatives involving diverse partners.
  • Libraries are vital in tackling social issues and creating a sense of community.
  • Sharing personal stories across generations strengthens community bonds and preserves cultural heritage.
  • Online groups, like gaming communities, are increasingly popular, offering a sense of belonging based on shared interests, despite their often closed nature.
  • The shift to remote and hybrid work arrangements emphasizes employee preference for flexibility and impacts how communities are structured. Urban planning must address these changing societal needs.
Opportunities for cultural heritage:
  • Consider how cultural heritage can create spaces to bring people together in community with one another.
  • Explore how the library engages key demographic groups, such as youth or older adults. Are there opportunities for intergeneration exchange?
  • Think of innovating projects to involve people in preserving the memory of their community, such as grassroots archiving or local historic preservation.
  • Think back to previous point on new forms of knowledge – how can efforts to address these opportunities also create community?

What next?

These are only some of the ideas for ways that the Trend Report may impact the cultural heritage space. We need librarians and cultural professionals and practitioners at all levels to navigate these trends and turn them into new opportunities to help all people participate in cultural life.

What are your ideas? Use the Trend Report as a launchpad for further debate, discussion, and experimentation!