lauren's library blog

Susan and I went to Top Tech Trends together. We were lucky to get the last two chairs together. It was a full room with a crowd of people standing by the door. The set up is more discussion based, with the Top Tech Trends people around a table discussing, and a large crowd around the table listening. Many more cell phones rang during the discussion than in anything else I’ve attended… and it was an early (Sunday) morning meeting! I was on Twitter part of the time; there were at least six of my twitter buddies in the room, so it was fun to have a back-channel discussion.

• Hearing a lot lately about lightweight road computers
• Could be appropriate for loaners, not as big of a deal if beat up, most of work on network anyway.
• A discussion of solid state hard drives & sealed keyboards… more durable
• Relying more on the Internet for applications and data means we can have a much smaller laptop
• Being able to get to your stuff on demand, but the network infrastructure isn’t there yet
• A discussion of how Gmail has nearly unlimited space for storage… asked why is it that I’m constantly running out of space with the University server space? Antiquated system
• CIO publication had an article about grey space…. storing things off campus (gmail, etc) because of campus limitation.
• We need to be providing more flexible tools so people won’t be taking data off campus
• Security and reliability concerns with online services
• Users don’t care as much about that, but instead about their work
• Can brand their online work with company name (changing Gmail to look like it comes from another address) which is a more professional presentation
• Unmet need: the ability to brand a lot of these services with library logo, etc.
• When IT is not flexible, want to go to vendor who can meet the needs.
• Limited time, etc, support what you’re able, there are options out of the library
• Issues of preservation and data replication, many copies for preservation
• Distinction between storage and preservation
• ARL has a bigger budget than individual libraries, would make sense for a consortium arrangement for a trusted digital repository
• There is good storage space online (via Amazon, Google, JungleDisc, etc)… is it something we should be doing? Does it make sense for libraries to do it if corporations with more resources are already playing in that field?
• The panel switched gears to talk about software of participation and software of aesthetics
• Pointed out LibraryThing has a lot of reviews, Amazon trusts their users enough to let them post reviews that say, “you know, you suck.” OCLC isn’t getting much engagement in their reviews.
• It’s not about letting users do things, but encouraging them to do so.
• Aesthetics is important: you see it with iPods, Bibliocommons, it really matters (but we don’t see it much in libraries)
• Aesthetics in buildings, too…. how to incorporate technology in an aesthetic way
• Ebooks as niche: people who use those are business travelers, specific type of user: more affluent, more interested in technology, carrying a lot of books around with you
• Other ebook demographics: students with lots of books, people who need a lot of reference texts, etc.
• My comment: if students start using ebooks, don’t you think that students will get more comfortable with ebooks, and the transition is inevitable?
• If students are using ebook textbooks, shouldn’t it be a different format? Does it need to be the linear text?
• A big education discussion ensued about how it needs to change…. big issues… lots of people wrestling with them in many fields
• Discussion leapt from panel to audience for a while
• Discussion of broadband divide in the world and within the US
• Automated, connected libraries means if a library doesn’t have many resources, they’re connected to others, and there are more resources for the patrons
• There are many libraries in the US that aren’t automated or connected
• It costs a lo to join some consortia, but your collection grows considerably and you can provide better service
• Trend among library admin to be receptive to the idea of open source, a few years ago this wasn’t the case
• Issue of authentication
• Economics of ILL are going to be different as we go forward… print on demand, etc, cost of ILL transaction goes down a little, but not a lot
• ILL might become a lot less expensive if digitizing collection as part of a separate project and ILL digitized objects
• Make library staff & patrons jump through a lot of nontransparent hoops, which they shouldn’t have to do
• If Amazon can get you a book in a day, library patrons can be underwhelmed if it takes us 3 days
• Netflix queue: I want 100 things, but only 3 at a time… I want to say what I want, when I want it, and how much I want at one time
• We’re using our traditional users, but things like Netflix and Amazon have created new models and have changed user expectations
• Evergreen makes holds seamless…. users don’t have to think about if their transaction is an ILL, etc.
• Should we even require our users to come in to get the book? Or return it?
• Picking up books give us a chance to make the case for library as place
• Blockbuster model: can get materials mailed to you and you also can go into the store
• Pointed out that the discussion has focused on books, but the journal world has just moved on
• A discussion of green issues: library ship materials out, maybe save gas?
• Print on demand: works on article, chapter, but does that work on book level?
• Choice is important, but we’re bad at that. Some would choose to pay to have books shipped to home, some would like digital books, some would want traditional library. Why can’t we offer options?
• Pointed out libraries focused on free… but should it be that basic service is free and additional services cost patrons?
• If you let ILL demand drive what you order, there are interesting collection management implications
• Discussion of reading behavior in children and adults
• Data is showing that students printing journal articles is decreasing over time… maybe getting more comfortable with reading from screen
• A quick point about users wanting “good enough” rather than perfect
• Readex Crossroads (M. Farkas is on the advisory board) is to create community around digital collections… why can’t libraries do that?
• A discussion of some types of communication tools sending messages to individual users. agreement that it’d have to be opt in, also discussed there will be so much of this that users might be overwhelmed by it.
• Cloud computing seems to be hitting the mainstream now
• More distributed computing: SETI, but now also DNA computing, etc. Computation for the public good is growing
• Green computing suddenly getting a lot more traction
• Some interesting things going on with DRM
• More converged digital media hub…. iPhone is an example of this
• Location awareness coupled with Web 2.0 and social computing
• Surface computing (multi touch) has interesting implications for public services
• Short range wireless networks about to get a big makeover
• Privacy is a common thread woven through all these terms. We need to think about what privacy means in this environment

Update:If you stuck with me this long… here’s a photo as a reward:

That’s Skype in use, trying to bring in a speaker from across the country!

Related posts:

1. top tech trends & privacy
2. tech therapy on libraries, IT, and the future
3. keynote Session 2
4. Top Tech Trends
5. Ebooks in Your Pocket