Technology in Academic Libraries TOOLS, PROCESSES, AND PRODUCTS Technology Topics 2 Systems & Methods Resources & Services Devices & Device Related Issues Social Networking & User-Generated Content Policy Issues Purpose of Technology 3 The ends? Increased productivity for both user and staff 24/7/365 access and availability The means? Application of evolving technologies evidenced by modernization transformation decentralization Life Cycle 4 We employ life cycles to implement and manage IT as an infrastructure: Planning Strategic and long term plans Technology plan Budgeting Initial Costs Cost models and financing, such as buy or lease? Recurring Costs Life Cycle 5 Investigation Negotiation/Acquisition Installation Training Evaluation Does it work? How do we know? Upgrade, migrate, or replace Life Cycle 6 Operations Staffing Increasingly skilled Internal relationships with other campus information technology providers Licensing of access and availability Use of proxies Accountability How do you measure and report a “hit”? Life Cycles 7 The most important aspect of the life cycle is the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the system must be aware of when it is time to consider upgrade, migrate, replace or abandon Keep a technology beyond its usefulness and you lose both effectiveness and efficiency As a result: accountability and credibility suffers IT: Modernize and Transform 8 Modernization and transformation important and visible concepts Modernization Use of computers to replicate tasks such as acquisitions, cataloging, circulation Idea is to improve efficiencies Transformation Fundamentally altering the nature of the organization and/or the services it provides History of Technology 9 IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES Historical Overview: 1960s-70s 10 Libraries offered some of the first public access to technology: Dummy terminals connected to mainframes which supported workflow of backroom operations or created systems of local inventory Development of databases that could store massive amounts of information centrally which could be accessed worldwide. Dialog becomes first commercial online database in 1972 Historical Overview: 1970s-80s 11 • Local inventory systems built on ordering, acquisition, and cataloging of materials= move to integrated library systems Commercial development of library systems Library systems became “off-the-shelf”, using parameter tables to locally customize systems to modernize applications, such as circulation Historical Overview 1980s 12 Minis and Microcomputers Use of CD-ROMs for bibliographic data by a librarian (Murphy – BiblioFile) Networking OS appears – UNIX Serial internal from muxes to terminals Computer labs became common on college campuses Productivity software leading to office suites IT: Transformation 13 1990s: Transformation Begins Transformation Fundamentally altering the nature of the organization through these capabilities Examples: Providing user access to full text content stored remotely from the library Distance education opportunities IT: Transformation 14 Microcomputers and supermicros Now called multiprocessors Internet to colleges via NSF grants GUIs (Macs and Windows) Web browsers (Mosaic Firefox) ISPs (dialups such as AOL) Full text availability IT: Transformation 15 E-everything (books, journals, reserves, etc.) Wireless networks Mobile ubiquitous phones Client/servers Simple definition: client requests and server provides over standard communication protocols IT: Transformation 16 Hand helds Digital libraries Customized access My library portal Movement of reference into virtual Transformation = application of learning/user centered technology IT: Transformation 17 We could not achieve transformation without: Standards NISO Z39.2: Bibliographic Information Interchange Format (MARC) NISO Z39.50: Information Retrieval Application Service (interoperability) TCP/IP: Terminal Control Program/Internet Protocol HTTP SGML (HTML and XML) IT: Transformation 18 Integrated Library System All modules share a single bibliographic database Share a common command language Changes in one module are immediately reflected in all other modules which use that information The OPAC is an example of a transformational application to “user centered” technology. IT: Decentralization 19 Movement from automating staff and backroom functions to providing direct services to end users through technology Reduce staff mediation and replace with end user empowerment IT: Decentralization 20 As a result of decentralization: The library is “virtual” Resources available 24/7/365 Not the same as a digital library Reduced or, in some instances, eliminated barriers and boundaries of geography and time Distance education (Asynchronous) Digital reference IT: Decentralization 21 Decentralization also impacts: Instruction technology Becomes much more complicated Transformational to learning and teaching Information literacy Skills are needed by users to effectively access, retrieve AND evaluate information, especially its quality IT: Decentralization 22 Authentication Need to authenticate remote users to comply with information vendor licenses Often done through proxy servers, many mounted on ILS (use of patron records) Security Application of firewalls Why? To ensure continuity of services to end users Times, They Are A Changing … 23 Because of modernization, transformation and decentralization, the academic library has changed, evidenced in part by its: organizational structure staffing fear of the unknown and uncertainty position descriptions communication methods services offered (remote access; proxies, etc.) cooperation with other information services IT: Change 24 Management issues and challenges must be dealt with or we will become extinct Accountability and evaluation Assessment of student learning outcomes Perceptions: University administrators really think that everything is on the Web Also think that libraries are becoming ghost towns It trends & Challenges 25 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Trends and Challenges 26 Systems and Methods Catalog- Next generation catalogs http://sccl.bibliocommons.com/ http://cat.danburylibrary.org/ Discovery-to-delivery tools Customization/personalization Devices Smartphones/handhelds/ebooks Location-based services (privacy issues) Pushing content to mobile devices Designing (webpages, apps, etc) for mobile devices Trends and Challenges 27 Resources, Publishing, & Services Libraries as publishers Digitization opportunities and challenges OpenURL (connecting to accessible material) Metadata harvesting Metasearching http://www.dogpile.com BC Library Holmes (http://library.bc.edu/F?local_base=BC_CATALOG) Automated Reference Semantic Web Hakia (http://hakia.com) Gaming Technology Trends and Challenges 28 Social Media and User-Generated Content Preservation of new media (end-user content) Citizen journalism Participation- e.g. tagging library content Trends and Challenges 29 Policy Issues Digital divide Privacy is dead (?) Open source/content/access Copyright Self-publishing Openness, sharing content DRM The Future 30 The so what: focus has, and will continue to shift from the place (the library) to providing services directly to the clientele (in anyplace) IT is Cyclical …. 31 Modernize Transformation then We modernize a transformation an example: PDFs over full text ASCII That, in turns, leads to another transformation. Therefore, the ultimate future is: 32 Virtual Reality Sit at home and physically browse a book remotely stored Eliminates the criticism “well, I can’t read it in bed …” Contextual experience 3D reference chats We may never leave home ……. except for the need of the “human moment” IT: System 33 Information technology is a means to an end, not the end in itself. It is a tool to improve efficiencies and to increase effectiveness