Michael Ridley
Chief Information Officer & Chief Librarian
University of Guelph
Exploring Roles
and Dislocations
Academic Libraries (LIS 514)
University of Western Ontario
November 22, 2005
Why am I here?
Lorna invited me ….
These are very challenging issues &
(frankly) I want to pick your brains
I’m ALWAYS recruiting for new staff
Clifford Lynch
Executive Director
Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Automation to Transformation
Personalization &
Recommender Systems
Digitization & Cultural Heritage
The main point........
Academic libraries (indeed universities)
are being transformed by technology.
New technologies, information technologies & digital
libraries are not just tools to be learned & used.
IT is an environment
in which we operate and are immersed.
IT is an ecology.
“When simple change
becomes transformational
change, the desire for
continuity becomes a
dysfunctional mirage.”
The Mirage of Continuity (1999) Hawkins & Battin
“The library
of the future
will combine …
... a managed place …
… with a managed
digital space.”
Our Enduring Values
Stewardship
Democracy
Service
Rationalism
Privacy
Equity of Access
Intellectual Freedom
Literacy and Learning
Towards the
Digital Library
Three Key
Transformations
From
Database/Repository
to
Environment
(Managed Digital Space)
Omnipresent
(it will be wherever the users are)
Seamless
(fully integrated with
digital learning
and research; beyond?)
Community
(resources, people, interaction, process, activities, services)
Dynamic & Organic
(the users will construct it as much as we will)
From
Coherence & Sense Making
(value added outcomes
and benefits)
Information Management
to
Knowledge Management
People Centric
(a focus on understanding not just data)
Explicit & Tacit Knowledge
(beyond recorded information)
Trusted Information Systems
(status, reputation, influence, impact)
Intelligent Agents
Personal Information Systems
(discovery, assistance, utility)
Control
(users not systems)
Managing People’s Interests
(trusted information systems)
Wireless Communication
(whenever, wherever, right now)
From
People Finding Information
to
Information Finding People
Smart Information
(telemetry, propagation)
Roles and Dislocations
Four Perspectives on:
• Changing Roles
• Disruptive Technologies / Ideas
• My Professional Life
Web 2.0
Web 2.0
Blogs
Wikis
Syndication (RSS)
Tagging
Social Networking
Web 2.0: Implications
The ILS is Dead
Interoperability / Standards
“We’re in Control.” Say What!?
Living on the Bleeding Edge
Lib 2.0
Data
Curator
Data Curator
Acquire & Access;
Understand & Transform
Open Content Alliance / “Open Canada”
Managing Digital Assets
Digital Preservation
Venture
Capitalist
Venture Capitalist
Canadian Research Knowledge Network
ScholarsPortal
Open Access Publishing
Open Content Alliance / “Open Canada”
Canadian Research
Knowledge Network (CRKN)
90
80
70
$82.7M
26%
$57.3M
60
$42.1M
50
40
30
20
10
0
Content
Value
Best Offer
Final Cost
Chief
Information
Officer
Chief Information Officer
Enterprise Vision
Integration: IT, IS and IR
Policy Development
Transformation
Librarian? IT Leader? Academic?
Understanding a key problem
The Digital
Piñata
Paul Saffo
Institute for the Future
“The future belongs to neither the conduit
or content players, but to those who control the
filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely
on to navigate through the expanses of cyberspace.”
Paul Saffo
Institute for the Future
“The future belongs to neither the conduit
or content players, but to those who control the
filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely
on to navigate through the expanses of cyberspace.”
Paul Saffo
Institute for the Future
“The future belongs to neither the conduit
or content players, but to those who control the
filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely
on to navigate through the expanses of cyberspace.”
Just one more....
The
Academic
Librarian
Professional Challenges
Vision = Action
Professional Challenges
Building
Relationships
Professional Challenges
Learning
Professional Challenges
Leadership
Professional Challenges
Community
Development
Seeking Balance
• sustainability and innovation
• collaboration and competition
• self interest and common good
• financial climate and relentless change
• ideology and practicality
• autonomy and accountability
The Way Forward: My Advice
• Dare to be great (the opportunities are extraordinary)
• Self interest is OK (but recognize this in others too)
• Trust your colleagues (but have formal agreements)
• Shared objectives are powerful (find them)
• Politics are important (but people are more important)
• Keep your eye on the prize
“To remain
what it is,
the library
must change . . .
David
David
Penniman
Penniman
University
School of
Informatics
at
Buffalo
University
at Buffalo
. . . if it does not
change,
it will not remain
what it is.”
Michael Ridley
Chief Information Officer & Chief Librarian
University of Guelph
Exploring Roles
and Dislocations
Questions, Comments & Discussion