Hot tech trends in libraries: flexibility and changeability is the new sustainability
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-09-2018-0062 |
| Pages | 1-5 |
| Author | Martin A. Kesselman |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Library & information services |
Hot tech trends in libraries: flexibility and
changeability is the new sustainability
Martin A. Kesselman
Context: a changing global
environment
I thought it might be good time to
write an editorial after being an editor of
Library Hi Tech News (LHTN) for over
five years and as a recent retiree of
Rutgers University Libraries with 40
years of experience. So much is
happening in terms of technology and
disruption. One of the joys of LHTN is
seeing the articles and columns that
come across my desk from all over the
world, and looking at trends in library
blogs, Twitter feeds and non-library
conferences such as the huge Consumer
Electronics Show (CES). I’ve been
attending CES over the past several
years and plan to attend (along with
200,000 others) this January 2019 too.
In fact, I needed to book my airfare and
hotel in March 2018! One thing I’ve
noticed and maybe you have to, is how
fast technology is moving and how
difficult it is to keep up. Many of the
institutional hallmarks of libraries we
take for granted are or soon will no
longer be relevant or will morph into
new services, resources and tools.
Changes in technology are and will
continue to force and adapt to changes
in how we work and identify ourselves
in many parts of the world.
Disruption is the new normal.
Yesterday’s cable is now Internet
connected choices. What happened to
disk drives and hard drives and DVDs?
Right now, it’s all about the cloud. And
who can even remember using Dialog
or BRS via dial-up services? And how
relevant are websites when users want
interactive mobile apps and mobile
learning. And how about reference
when there are a myriad of experts and
information available for free online or
via YouTube? And, in higher education,
it might be not only getting a degree but
demonstrating various competencies by
gathering credentials via self-learning
and attaining digital badges. But, in the
end, who but us are going to put a focus
on authority, bias, relevancy, and
lifelong learning?
What’s in a name? A librarian
still denotes that we work in a library.
Even “library schools” have morphed
into I-Schools and special librarians
have already been moving toward the
title of information specialist or
knowledge workers. Not only are these
titles more relevant in today’s world,
they also bring with them greater
prestige and in many cases, larger
salaries. Not to put down the term
library, because in many geographic
settings, a physical space of a library is
critical and crucial for many purposes,
even if it is just a space to gather, study
and learn.
So, that also brings up the issue of
what is a library? Is it a building? Is it a
website? Is it on your mobile device? Is
it a single defined space, or is it any or
all of these options? I think so. A core
role for us is to define your community
and their needs. Is the library involved
in economic development? Does it
serve an older constituency? Is it in
academia which students and faculty
access the majority of your services
anytime anywhere? Is it a specialist
community such as a hospital or
agriculture experiment station? Where
is your office? Is it with your users or
are you in a building on the other side of
campus? Does it matter where you are
and where your users are? No matter
what, technology today allows us to go
wherever our users might be and
possibly in the not too distant future, it
could be a team of information
specialists serving a similar clientele
across a wide geographic area? Do we
focus on immediate reactive needs or do
we look at the entire picture? I have
heard corporate librarians bemoan that
academic libraries are not preparing
students to truly be information literate,
aware of intellectual property issues and
lifelong learning. Are we teaching our
students how to be successful at the
university or are we teaching them
lifelong learning skills?
As I’ve noted in the past it seems that
public libraries are now leaders with
appropriate technology and because of
less hierarchy and a history of outreach
and community engagement. Public
libraries were the leaders in services
such as chat reference and maker spaces
and now many are stepping up to
the role in curating authoritative online
e-learning websites and mobile
applications. In developing countries
they play an even more prominent role
in the dissemination of health and
sustainable agriculture practices and are
often leaders in community economic
development.
Trending, bending, blending
It might be useful to look at some
recent top ten tech trends lists. First is
LITA’s Top 10 Trends from the ALA
Annual 2018 Conference (www.ala.org/
lita/ttt) which include Quantum
Computing, Digital Gaslighting (being
manipulated by others via digital tools,
Blockchain Technology (list of records
(blocks) that form a train,
Psychometrics, Digital Libraries
interfacing with the public via Wi-Fi on
public transit, Digital libraries
embedded in public housing, Death of
Transparency, Fragmentation and
Fluidity, Library Databases in the Age
of Alexa and Siri, Next-Generation
Learning Management Systems. My
take – it really is about how technology
has become integrated into all aspects of
our lives including libraries. It’s more
about how technologies are being
employed rather than the technologies
themselves.
IFLA takes broader strokes in their
update to their trends report which focus
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 8 2018, pp. 1-5, V
CEmerald Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-09-2018-0062 1
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