In the seventh and eighth decade of the XX century, a number of economic experts, sociologists and writers was trying to explain more and more evident changes in the way of life of individuals and in the modalities of operation of institutions and organizations, that have announced a transition to a new stage of overall social development of humankind. In 1962 Fritz Maklap wrote about the industry of knowledge, in 1969 Peter Drucker spoke about the economic transition and the forthcoming knowledge-based economy, in 1973 Daniel Bell developed the idea of postindustrial society as the system that is predominantly engaged in services rather than production of material goods, while in 1974 Paul Zurovski used the phrase information literacy for the first time, in order to denote the skill of effective use of information in solving problems. World, and first of all its most developed communities, have already stepped into the information or digital age.

Despite the obvious differences in the economic, political and cultural level, the transition has affected both developed and undeveloped societies, and according to predictions by Peter Drucker, this transitional period should last for about one hundred years. As a series of fundamental changes in the domain of economy, culture, demography and politics, the transition should shape a new social model, and establish new relationships and new system of social values. It is natural that, during the overall and dynamic changes in our surroundings, we wonder where and why the value system in which we were born has disappeared. It is natural in Serbia, the more so because in the recent decades it was exposed to deep political and economic crises, war operations and extreme impoverishment of its population. Finally, in conditions of instability, the most natural questioning is the one over the fate of book, culture and education, as the activities whose development requires stable environment, strategic thinking and public financing.

Which values will represent the society of the future, what will reading and learning look like, with what kind of knowledge schools should ‘arm’ us, what will happen in the field of sociability and social interactions, which is the way to the creative economy, what is the role of libraries in the transition process, how much we are information literate... are just some of the open questions of our time, and those that the authors deal with in the column Theme of Čitalište No 20.

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