This webinar will discuss foresight (or futures thinking) and how strategically thinking about the future can support the people that work in libraries, the library organization, and the community the library serves. With insights from a group of library staff across the state of Idaho, library consultants at the Idaho Commission for Libraries have been investigating how to incorporate thinking about the future into library work and developing fun ways to share what they’ve learned. Their newest toolkit, the Things From Future Libraries Toolkit, provides a guide for anyone to put on a creative, participatory design workshop where attendees imagine and prototype an object from a library in a future they select.

Annie Gaines is the Continuing Education Consultant for the Idaho Commission for Libraries, where she connects the people who work in all types of libraries to provide training and support to reach their future goals. She has experience working in academic and public libraries (her very first job was as a teenage library page in her local public library) and has earned certificates in strategic foresight, facilitation, and instructional design.

Date Recorded: 2/25/2026

Format: Archived YouTube Video

Presenters: Annie Gaines, Continuing Education Consultant / Idaho Commission for Libraries