Working in The Information Future:FrankenLibraries or Librarytopia

Stephen Abram, MLS

University of Ottawa, Jan. 16, 2013

It’s simple really

• Users will continue to be diverse in the extreme

• Expectations around timeliness will increase

• We will have a foot in both camps for many years to come: digital and print text

• Content will (is already) be dominated by non-text (gamification, 3D, visual, audio, etc.)

• Search will explode with options

• The single purpose device is dead as a target environment

• Devices will focus on social, collaboration, sharing, multimedia

• Librarians will need to focus primarily on service and strategic alignment (reduced roles in organizing knowledge)

• E-Learning, collections and metadata will go to the cloud massively

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Market Share versus Winner Thinking

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Deer in headlamps slide here.

Library Megatrends

Digitization’s real impact – non-fiction

Format

Print, ePUB, PDF, Kindle, etc. etc.

CD, DVD, USB, etc. etc.

Streaming

Licenses, Open Access, Creative Commons, etc. etc.

eBooks, eJournals, eContent

Games, Learning Objects, Guides, …

Copyright Issues (NatGeo, Tasini, TPP, SOPA, etc. etc.)

Author Lawsuits, WikiLeaks

Citation fragmentation

Content Fragmentation

Text

Graphics & Charts

Formulae

Pictures, Maps

Video & Audio

3D objects

Gamification

Deep Data Mining

Assessments

Community collaboration, cohorts, & social sharing

etc. etc. etc.

Beyond Text

ILS

CMS

Cloud(s)

Device dependencies

Formats (e.g. Kindle)

Discovery versus consumer search versus native search

4 horseman to watch:

Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook (not Microsoft)

Walled Gardens or Infinite Access

Textbooks

eLearning (white label, proprietary, custom,…)

Learning Management Systems

Cohort Learning Environments

Presentation Systems

Virtual Conference Environment

Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)

Collaboration Software

MOOCs, e-learning, ‘distance environments’

Open Access, scholarly publishing and deep aggregations digitization

Learning Object Diversification

Teens / Post-Millennials

Millennials

Aging workforce and tipping points

Other demographics

The new digital divide is not economic or aligned with poverty

Business versus Consumer

The Device Divide

Mobility

End User Fragmentation

The new Algorithms

Consumer Search

Specialized Search

Professional Search

Semantic, Sentiment, Social, Suggestion Search etc.

Mobile search

Social search

Augmented Reality

SEO & SMO

Content Spam

Geo-location

Ultimate search choice

Search Fragmentation

Feature Phones die

Smartphones

Tablets (Phablets?!)

Laptops

Desktops

Gaming stations

Television as device

E-Readers (e-paper versus plasma)

Internet of Things

Browsers lose dominance to apps and HTML5

Technology Fragmentation

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Black and White

The polarization of discussion

Dogmatic vs. Professional positions on: eBooks, access, copyright, etc.

Political and social value systems in conflict

Black & White

Recognize key shifts

OMG – the digital book!

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Public Libraries

Academic Research Libraries

Community College Libraries

School Libraries

Specialized Libraries

Consortia

Trends Differ Slightly by Library Sector

Recommendations (LibraryThing for Libraries, BiblioCommons, Book Psychic)

Community Glue

Economic Impact and VALUE studies

Programs on steroids aligned with collections and space

Partnerships

Education and Learning – REALLY committing to learning and accreditation/ credits / diplomas / certificates

Renewed advocacy moves to Influencing and selling

Public Libraries

Confronting and acknowledging the Academic Bubble

eLearning alignment, MOOCs, LibGuides

Repositories . . . Content Archipelagos? Standards and Cooperation

LibGuides next generation

Patron-driven acquisitions

Post-literacy: Information Fluency versus ‘literacy’

Demarcation between Undergrad, Grad and Faculty/Staff strategies

Dealing with different personae

Copyright compliance

E-Coursepacks and e-Reserves

Strategic budgeting

Partnerships and Liaison roles and managing same sustainably

Academic Research Libraries

Information Literacy

Distance education and eLearning

Textbooks, Reserves, Coursepacks, e-all

MOOCs

Mobility

Collections for new degrees and certifications

Dealing with the scalability issue in Higher Ed

Community College and Undergrad

Dealing with cost-effectiveness

Common Core and ‘new’ curriculum

Aligning with research

21st Century Learning

Future of the Textbook

Scaffolded Information Literacy / Fluency

Filters

Staff and Faculty relationships

Classroom pages

Impact

School Libraries

Intranets

MS SharePoint

Relationship building

Embedded Librarianship

Personal branding

Outsourcing

Training (scalability)

Proving impact, value, and mission alignment

Specialized Libraries

Consortia

CRKN, OCUL, TAL, etc.

OCLC Linked Data, RDA and global metadata strategies

DPLA

Library Renewal

EveryLibrary Advocacy PAC

3M e-books (CALIFA / Douglas County initiatives)

Dark literature, orphan works, etc.

Cloud initiatives

Consortia

Where are the real pain points?

So what is the answer?

Grocery Stores

Grocery Stores

Grocery Stores

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Meals

What is a meal in library end-user community or research, education and learning terms? Are you focusing on scale?

Let’s thinkThink: Are you thinking food, courses, days, weekly plan, or nutrition overall?

The new bibliography and collection development

KNOWLEDGE PORTALS

KNOWLEDGE,LEARNING,

INFORMATION &RESEARCHCOMMONS

What are the real issues?

Craft versus Industrial Strength

Personal service only when there’s impact

Pilot, Project, Initiative versus Portfolio Strategy

Hand-knitted prototypes versus Production•e.g. Information Literacy initiatives

•Discovery versus Search versus Deep Search

•eLearning units

•Citation and information ethics

Strategic Analytics

Value measures

Behaviours, Satisfaction

What We Never Really Knew Before 27% of our users are under 18. 59% are female. 29% are college students. 5% are professors and 6% are teachers. On any given day, 35% of our users are there for the very

first time! Only 29% found the databases via the library website. 59% found what they were looking for on their first search. 72% trusted our content more than Google. But, 81% still use Google.

We often believe a lot that isn’t true.

2010 Eduventures Research on Investments 58% of instructors believe that technology in courses positively impacts student engagement.

71% of instructors that rated student engagement levels as “high” as a result of using technology in courses.

71% of students who are employed full-time and 77% of students who are employed part-time prefer more technology-based

tools in the classroom.

79% of instructors and 86 percent of students have seen the average level of engagement improve over the last year as they

have increased their use of digital educational tools.

87% of students believe online libraries and databases have had the most significant impact on their overall learning.

62% identify blogs, wikis, and other online authoring tools while 59% identify YouTube and recorded lectures.

E-books and e-textbooks impact overall learning among 50% of students surveyed, while 42% of students identify online

portals.

44% of instructors believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement.

32% of instructors identify e-textbooks and 30% identify interactive homework solutions as having the potential to improve

engagement and learning outcomes. (e-readers was 11%)

49% of students believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement.

Students are more optimistic about the potential for technology.

What we know is POWERFUL! Facts + Stories

Via Stephen’s Lighthouse Blog

“Curb Your Librarian Frustration in 8 Easy Steps”

New York State 2012 Summary of School Library Research

Ken Haycock OLA Summary of School Library Impact Studies

Gale / McKinley HS Study by Project Tomorrow

Project Tomorrow reports to Congress

Alison Head and Information Fluency research

Foresee Data and Overall Usage Data

Pew Internet & American Life reports

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation studies for ALA

IMLS, NCES, ARL, ACRL, ALA, LJ, etc.

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Be More Open to the Users’ Path

What Would You Attempt If You Knew You Would Not Fail?

My Humble Recommendations

Focus on the specific user niche, I mean really Pilot and experiment with mobile social cohorts Classes (mobile training or extended learning) Reading cohorts and book clubs Member, Researcher and Learner driven strategies first Associations, Consortia and Collaboratives Fundraising (e.g. Kickstarter) Reorganize for simplicity and flexibility, by function not subject Cross-functional Teams (business or sport)

My Humble Recommendations

Actively lobby and educate to ensure that the emerging mobile ecosystem supports the values and principles of librarianship for balance in the rights of end users for use, access, learning and research.

Support vendors and laws to be as agnostic as possible by ensuring that, as far as possible your services and content offerings support the widest range of devices, formats, browsers, and platforms.

eLearning, Mobile, Distant, Virtual

Tools

Get to where the user is.

My Humble Recommendations

Design for frictionless access using such opportunities as geo-IP and mobile ready websites

Test everything in all browsers – mobile or not – all devices. You cannot control the end-user ecology

Invest in usability research aimed at the user experience and test and learn from it and share your learning.

Don’t prioritize the librarian experience first! Watch key developments in major publishing spaces

– retail, video, kiddy lit, textbooks, e-learning, fiction, etc. Spot the differences and opportunities

This is an evolution not a revolution The REAL revolution was the Internet and the Web. The hybrid ecology is winning in the near term for operating systems and content formats. It’s not going to be print vs digital or tablets vs laptops. That’s too easy. This is good since competition drives innovation and we’re in a Renaissance not an end game right now. Ambiguity will rule and that’s uncomfortable. Engage in critical thinking not raw criticism. Be constructive. Critical thinking is not part of dogma or religious fervor or fan boy behavior.

This is an evolution not a revolution Perfectionism will not move us forward at this juncture. Really understand the digital divide and remove your economic and social class blinkers Get real about teens and Boomers Get over library obsession with statistics and comprehensiveness. Get excellent at real measurements, sampling and understanding impact and satisfaction. (Analytics, Foresee, Pew)

This is an evolution not a revolution We need to revisit the concept of preservation, archives, repositories, and conservation from an access and linked data view. Check out new publishing models like Flipboard and MOOCs. Watch for emerging book enhancements and other features that will challenge library metadata, selection policies, preservation, and collection development.

The power of libraries

A Third Path

SmellyYellowLiquid

OrSex

Appeal?

Focus on the Whole Experience

Until lions learn to write their own story, the story will always be from the perspective

of the hunter not the hunted.

Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLAVP strategic partnerships and markets

Cengage Learning (Gale)Cel: 416-669-4855

stephen.abram@gmail.comStephen’s Lighthouse Blog

http://stephenslighthouse.comFacebook, Pinterest, Tumblr: Stephen

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