These are indeed challenging times for Special Collections. Special Collections contain a wealth of wonderful materials and librarians who care about bringing those collections and people together. This is shown by the many examples of good practice in this book (and I could have included so many more). But services are often underfunded, undervalued, under threat, beset with hidden collections and other inherited problems. A ‘perfect storm’ of pressure on public sector and higher education resources and the perception that everything is or soon will be digitized means that Special Collections must defend their very existence.

However, there are also tremendous opportunities. I hope this book will help librarians to see the power of new technologies to make collections available in ways unimaginable before, to make connections, to share ideas and to show their value to their host organizations. In a world flattened and homogenized by digital technologies, there is a demand for the power of objects and fresh narratives that Special Collections can offer.

Moving beyond the next few years, what of the future for Special Collections? Are they, or the library, dying, as is often predicted, thanks to the digital age?

Many possible futures exist for Special Collections and their parent libraries, depending on developments in the ‘ecosystems’ of which they are part. The study of ‘scenarios’ can stimulate Special Collections librarians to reflect on likely developments and build strategies to shape and respond to these possibilities. See for example:

Though these all focus on higher education, these developments will also affect Special Collections in other sectors.

The deciding factors, already noticeable now, will be: