De vijf trends die op de tijdens de IFLA-conferentie (17 - 23 augustus) gelanceerde website belicht worden zijn:

1. Nieuwe technologie leidt ertoe dat de toegang tot informatie zowel vergroot als verkleind wordt.
2. Online educatie zal wereldwijd leiden tot verandering en democratisering op het gebied van onderwijs
3. De grenzen van privacy en dataprotectie zullen worden geherdefinieerd
4. Binnen hyperverbonden gemeenschappen zal er beter geluisterd worden naar nieuwe geluiden en groepen, die daardoor krachtiger worden
5. De mondiale informatieomgeving zal door de invloed van nieuwe technologieën een transformatie ondergaan.

Over trend 1 stelt het trendrapport bij wijze van toelichting: 'An ever-expanding digital universe will bring a higher value to information literacy skills like basic reading and competence with digital tools. People who lack these skills will face barriers to inclusion in a growing range of areas. The nature of new online business models will heavily influence who can successfully own, profit from, share or access information in the future. The ways in which people can access information online and the volume and diversity of information produced pose new challenges for libraries.'

Toelichting bij trend 2: 'The rapid global expansion in online education resources will make learning opportunities more abundant, cheaper and more accessible. Increased value placed on lifelong learning and the recognition of non-formal and informal learning will change the nature of recruitment, and equalise employment opportunities in a number of ways. An abundance of online learning resources, coupled with the rise of Open Access also stand to affect the nature and services provided by libraries.'

Over trend 3: 'As data sets held by governments and companies support the advanced profiling of individuals, sophisticated methods of monitoring and filtering communications data will make tracking those individuals cheaper and easier. Combined with the economic value of this personal data and pervasiveness of our digital footprint, these developments have serious consequences for individual privacy and trust in the online world. Libraries are pondering the implications of e-lending as well as mobile and wearable technology in libraries on privacy and the protection of their users' data.'

Als toelichting bij trend 4: 'In hyper-connected societies more opportunities for collective action are being realised – enabling the rise of new voices and promoting the growth of single-issue movements at the expense of traditional political parties. Open government initiatives and access to public sector data are leading to more transparency and citizen-focused public services. At the same time, government surveillance and censorship of online communications is becoming more and more frequent, encompassing the communications of fringe movements, grass roots activists and revolutions as well as those planning criminal activities. Libraries have long been vocal opponents of censorship in print - has library opposition to online censorship been adequate?'

Tenslotte stelt het rapport over trend 5: 'The proliferation of hyper-connected mobile devices, networked sensors in appliances and infrastructure, 3D printing and language-translation technologies are transforming the global information economy. Existing business models across many industries will experience creative disruption spurred by innovative devices that help people remain economically active later in life from any location. Automated language translation is just one technology having a profound impact on access to information, cross-border communications and cultural engagement. With advancements in machine translation and availability of internet access, potentially any book in any language could be available to a user, regardless of their location. What impacts will this have on libraries?'

Het rapport, getiteld Riding the Waves or Caught in the Tide?, is bedoeld als aanzet tot een discussie over de toekomst van de bibliotheek, die IFLA graag zou zien ontstaan binnen de mondiale bibliotheekgemeenschap. Daartoe is onder andere een online discussieforum beschikbaar, waarvoor men zich dient te registreren om in te kunnen loggen. Hetzelfde geldt voor de literatuurstudie en expert papers die ten grondslag hebben gelegen aan het trendrapport.