Paul WalkDirector, Innovation Support Centre, UKOLN, University of Bath

p.walk@ukoln.ac.uk@paulwalk

Skills for delivering library services in a multi-device environment (in 10 minutes!)

the intersection between supporting users & enabling learning and technology

expectations are changing - VRM

• from Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) to Vendor Relationship Management (VRM)

• Principles of VRM• Customers must enter relationships with vendors as independent

actors

• Customers must be the points of integration for their own data

• Customers must have control of data they generate and gather. This means they must be able to share data selectively and voluntarily

• Customers must be able to assert their own terms of engagement

• Customers must be free to express their demands and intentions outside of any one company's control

• http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/projectvrm/Main_Page

bring your own device (BYOD)

• by-passing layers of the infrastructure provided by the library

• devices evolving too quickly to keep up....

• ...but that’s OK because everyone’s in the same boat!

• device-agnostic web services becoming mainstream

Photo by Jamais Cascio http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamais_cascio/3985074934/

responsive web design

• designing for interaction with users through the same systems interface but on different:

• devices (desktop & laptop computers, tablets, smart-phones, even not-so-smart phones)

• applications (‘apps’)

Image taken from the Kineo website: http://www.kineo.com/mobile-learning/responsive-e-learning-for-multi-devices.html

however...

Gartner Says the Personal Cloud Will Replace the Personal Computer as the Centre of Users' Digital Lives by 2014

http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1947315

so it’s not just devices we need to worry about!

• the user arrives at the library equipped with a set of devices and applications, but increasingly it’s a set of services that they are really bringing with them

• so, the library increasingly needs to think in terms of service-service interaction

• the balance has shifted - it is no longer sufficient to expect the user to simply engage with the services that the library provides

• it’s more a case of ‘Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)’ than Bring Your Own Device....

exploiting the power in the user’s pocket

Photo by Jon Crel http://www.flickr.com/photos/joncrel/5770790849/

development with user interfaces & APIs

• understanding the fundamentals of working with interfaces to systems (both user and machine) is essential to properly deploy systems in a global network

• being comfortable working with developers - understanding how to participate successfully in Agile development

• learning to use the basic tools of web service development - e.g. tools which allow you to look at the inputs and outputs of web APIs

Photo by Rob Styles. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmmmrob/3065029807/

Photo by Rob Styles. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmmmrob/3065869982/

summary - new skills

• skills which will help you to deliver successful library services to users armed with a range of devices and platforms:

• maintaining awareness of the devices, the apps and the ‘cloud’ services which users bring with them

• understanding and exploiting modern web user interface design. You don’t need to be a developer, but you do need to know what will work

• working with developers, understanding the affordances of web APIs in particular, being ready and able to participate in Agile development

• basic web development/integration skills - learn to think like a developer

Thank you for listening!paul@paulwalk.net