In today's link of the day (Library Link of the Day) we find Tom Frey from the DaVinci Institute's view of the future.

In it, there are trends to heed and advice for libraries. The advice is to

1. Evaluate the library experience
2. Embrace new information technologies

Instant messaging - an interesting presentation during the “CyberTours” (mini-sessions). Here is a highlight: “For some, not being available via IM is like not having a telephone number.” Some teens think of email as “communicating with ‘old folks’.” Approximately 25% of I.M. is from older people at the Thomas Ford Public Library.

If libraries are interested in communicating with younger people that are plugged in, I.M. is an option, as is text messaging.

I’m seeing that the patterns of usage vary so much between generations. And if not generations, then those that are “hot” on internet usage. The opening speaker mentioned that studies show that those people who have broadband have far different patterns (and intensity of use) than those who have dial-up.

Instant messaging - an interesting presentation during the “CyberTours” (mini-sessions). Here is a highlight: “For some, not being available via IM is like not having a telephone number.” Some teens think of email as “communicating with ‘old folks’.” Approximately 25% of I.M. is from older people at the Thomas Ford Public Library.

If libraries are interested in communicating with younger people that are plugged in, I.M. is an option, as is text messaging.

I’m seeing that the patterns of usage vary so much between generations. And if not generations, then those that are “hot” on internet usage. The opening speaker mentioned that studies show that those people who have broadband have far different patterns (and intensity of use) than those who have dial-up.

The keynote speaker today spoke more about “social computing:” blogs, flickr, del.icio.us. Another term that seems to be prevalent in many sessions is “continuous partial attention.” The fact that many people now pay partial attention to things, e.g., blogging while listening to a speaker, monitoring email, text or instant messaging, makes some uncomfortable. However, it is a way of thinking/acting that will increasingly become more ubiquitous.

So what does that mean for libraries? It means that we can’t expect undivided attention. We aren’t the only stream of information that our patrons use. (We already know that, don’t we?!) But by using deli.ci.ous, we can bookmark our favorite sources of info, and become one of our patrons’ trusted sources. (LaGrange Library is already doing this.)

Here is yesterday’s blog that isn’t password protected:

I’m on a break between sessions at the Internet Librarian Conference. The last session, which focused on web technology in public libraries, ended with several “best guess” trends:

Virtual Reference, i.e. paid subscription reference, will decline. There are too many technical problems which result in session disconnects in up to 25% of the transactions. (I hope Idaho’s experience with this has a better record.)

There will be more ways to communicate with a librarian - instant messaging, text messaging, video within a few years. Libraries will increasingly allow cell phones in the library for their interactive capabilities - pushing webpages, info etc to those cell phones within the library.

As if that great access to OCLC cataloging and interlibrary loan weren’t enough, Idaho libraries that participate in LiLI Unlimited are also automatically members of OCLC and the OCLC Western Service Center. This means that you can participate in the cooperative purchasing discounts available through the OCLC Western Service Center. Companies providing discounts to OCLC Western members are listed at http://www.oclc.org/western/cooperative/default.htm. Companies include:

Highsmith
Brodart
Kapco
Facts on File
McGraw-Hill
and many more!

Came across this article via ResourceShelf on the efforts of the European Union’s “European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media” and a conference titled “The Role of Libraries in the Information Society”, which took place in Luxembourg on September 29, 2005. The commissioner, Viviane Reding, gives an illuminating overview of the challenges and importance of libraries as they grapple with questions of access, digitization efforts, and relevance.

In her address, she outlines an initiative called i2010, which aims to “provide[s] a framework to address the main challenges facing the Information Society and media sectors in the next 5 years.”

If you have an interest in Readers Advisory, you may want to take a look at the WebJunction discussion. This FREE discussion thread was created to “Share ideas and discuss issues related to the exciting and sometimes challenging, topic of adult reader’s advisory. It’s all about getting the right book to the right reader.”

WebJunction has posted the updated Technology Watch List for Small Libraries. On the list you will find information about:

Application Service Providers (ASPs)
Digital Preservation
Wireless Access
Blogging and RSS
Thin-Client Technology
E-Books & Audio E-Books

Of course the WJ Technology Watch Committee points out that “the items on this list are *not* in order of priority, except this one, which always comes first: Technology Planning…”

It’s confession time. As a teenager, I was lazy. It’s true. I watched too much tv. I slept in. I had to be threatened with punishment before I’d clean my room, pick up a broom, or dust something. I did my homework quickly and with the fewest steps possible–if I did it at all. I also procrastinated; writing reports the day before they were due and often scribbling away at algebra during the lunch break before my 5th period class. I, dare I say, was a pretty normal teenager. Unfortunately, I don’t have any real research upon which to base my opinion. I can only say that I generally saw my friends, my sisters, and other kids at school behaving pretty much the same way.

Found a great read in the September 2005 issue of Information Technology and Libraries (Vol. 24, no. 3), titled “I, Librarian” by Hilda Kruger. In it she discusses the same issues we 2020 Vision folk are discussing, including virtual reference (on steroids), wearable computing, and futuristic concepts applied to day-do-day library transactions; and let’s not forget the keen awareness that librarians and libraries are increasingly mutating to reflect the demands of both the people we serve and the technologies available to them. It also includes excerpts from science fiction novels and futurists. It’s all so weirdly familiar…

I urge the readers of this blog and those thinking about the future of libraries to read Chrystie Hill’s blog piece posted at WebJunction. She asks, “…do libraries currently have enough going for them to stay open? Some of them may. Is there enough there there to sustain this concept of libraries for the public good?”

Chrystie wrote an interesting piece that starts with a look at 7 users in a coffee shop on an average day and moves on to discuss social networks and the role of libraries in the lives of one generation of users.