Trends that will affect technology and
resource decisions in academic libraries
for the coming years
Dr. Navin Upadhyay
Asstt. Librarian
Main Library
Indian Institute of Technology
(Banaras Hindu University)
Varanasi
Email : nupadhyay.lib@iitbhu.ac.in,
navinupadhyay233@gmail.com
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Laptops , Media Tablets and Beyond
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Trends:
Bringing personal devices at library has become the norm, not the exception.
Wireless access of Internet and LSS (Laptop Lending Services, not common in Indian academic
institutions) is increasing.
Changing Information Seeking Behavior of library users
( Users expect to have access to information resources from
Challenges :
Changing nature of portable devices ( in terms of hardware and software)
Changes in the spaces and environment in which these devices are used
( technology infrastructure, policies, security and management challenge)
Provide information to users where they want : Does not matter in which form or on which device
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Mobile Centric Applications and Interfaces
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Trends:
No of mobile users are increasing
( According to the 2013 “ICT Facts and Figures” the mobile market consists of over 6.8 billion
subscribers, with a majority living in developing countries)
Mobile friendly websites , e-resources, databases and native applications are increasing.
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Challenges :
To make available the resources and services of library on palm of users hand.
How to stimulate intention for use of library apps and how to meet users needs?
To change the technology ( hardware and software) as per the users need.
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Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
New Scholarly Communication and Publishing Models
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Trends:
Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative
models.
Massive open online courses are being widely explored as alternatives and supplements to
traditional university courses, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and medicine
discipline.
Challenges :
Challenge to manage the new scholarly communication and publishing models : opportunity
to get involved.
Challenge to commonly provided digital repository services, author copyright advice,
digitization services, and management of research datasets, as well as metadata creation,
cataloging, and digital preservation with publishers.
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Open Educational Resources
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Trends :
Openness- concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions
of transparency and easy access to data and information-is becoming a value.
Massive open online course materials are being widely explored as alternatives and
supplements
to
traditional
university
course
text
books,
especially
in
ISTEM disciplines.
Challenges:
To include these resources in library holdings with proper quality insurance and integrate
with the purchased/subscribed/leased resources.
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
The Internet of Everything
Trends :
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Remote sensing of everything is now being part of the network .
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Challenges :
Issue to maintain these devices and privacy type sensitive issues
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Online Learning
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Trends :
On campuses around the world, virtually every aspect of how students and researchers
connect with institutions and each other to learn online is being reworked, rethought, and
redone to make it more effective and popular.
As new pedagogies emphasize personalized STEM+ learning, there is a growing demand for
learner-centered online opportunities more than ever before.
Challenges :
The renewed focus on online learning has opened the door to new perspectives on old
challenges, such as assessment, learning support, and how to ensure quality at scale.
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Cloud Based Tools
Trends:
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Libraries are using the cloud for putting together user resources, i.e. using Software as a
Service (SaaS), such as in library catalogues, World Cat, Google docs, and the aggregated
subject gateways like SUMMON, and others; the web Platform as a Service (PaaS) as in the
use of Google App Engine; or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as in the use of D-Space,
FEDORA, and others.
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IT organizations are rapidly moving towards a world where they can offer a portfolio of cloud
services, both public and private, to meet the diverse requirements of their applications.
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Challenges :
Apply technology for the library services
Trends that will affect technology and resource decisions
Management of Big Data
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Trends :
Big data has quickly emerged as a significant challenge for IT leaders and it may pose
challenge to the library professionals in coming years.
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Challenges :
To develop new skills to effectively use these technologies (Apache Hadoop etc) and manage
Big Data for service to the user.
Conclusion
The changing nature of scholarly publishing and information
seeking behavior of users have created a large number of
users which is equipped with the latest technologies and
having mind set to change the way they get information from
the library or through the social networking services even on
the cost of changing their devices. To cater the academic
needs of such type of users which will increase in multifold in
near future, is a big challenge for the library administrators.
The decision of resources and technology to support these
user’s requirements and the services to meet out the user’s
expectation is going to be the main challenge in coming years
for the librarians.