Idaho Commission for Libraries

Way back in the Think Tank we were shown a video titled “Googlezon” (EPIC 2014) which partly blew my socks off and partly gave me déjà vu. We know Google is putting together a massive grid of innovative and creative services, and will get even more powerful as they partner with institutions like the Library of Congress or spearhead online content-enrichment services like Google Base. Anyhow, I enjoyed watching the video once again and thought others out there would too:

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.”

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…

Take a look at Washington’s state-wide library marketing campaign. Lots of information as well as great ideas and pointers to adapt their marketing and awareness campaign to one’s own make-your-library-known bandwagon.

Who’s putting it together?

A statewide committee comprised of library marketing professionals and representatives from all types of libraries is guilding the project. The project is coordinated by the Washington State Library and funded with Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Found this fascinating 170-page report (no, I didn’t read the whole thing, but c’mon!) via BoingBoing on how the Australian government sees the Internet evolving, and the means by which it’s trying to anticipate how much of a bigger splash the Internet of 2010 will make and how it can be met. Sound familiar? The report makes four distinct definitions, or identifying factors, of Internet evolution by 2010:

1. Basic communications: from fixed to mobile telephony
2. Personal managers: same mobile telephony pushes integrated mobile gadgets
3. Lifestyle junkies: new breed of music/video consumers using, surprise, integrated mobile gadgets
4. Communicating machines: nothing new in 2010 but developing said mobile communication.

How about this take on information on demand: book vending machines. Found this link on BoingBoing (truly, “A Directory of Wonderful Things”) via Yahoo! News. The implications? How about virtual information kiosks on busy street corners? 24/7 virtual reference terminals in bus stations or malls? Or an on-demand, computerized and temperature-controlled, with perfectly caffeinated calibration, cafe au lait dispensing machine next to my bed? You know, what you want, when you want it.

Several things I wanted to share with you all. First, a great big Thank You to Jan, Glen, all the presenters, and the folks at the Idaho State Library for the opportunity to come together and share/bounce ideas about library futures.

Second, I wish I would’ve done a better of job of getting to know all the participants—next time I will make sure I introduce myself, shake your hand, and get to know you well enough to borrow money.

Third, I’m still digesting everything that I heard and read and am percolating the implications involved to truly change my current mindset of “it’s possible” with the preferred future vision of “let’s do it!” I know I have to strengthen my guts (heart? head? being?) to start affecting change.

I read an article in CNET News.com titled “College Library of the Future” which emphasizes Google’s continued efforts to digitize the biggie libraries (Stanford, NYPL, etc.), as well as the efforts of other libraries not on Google’s digitization radar. Nothing new on that scope, but what I found interesting was the ending comment of the article:

“The library that acts as a steward will have to learn what it means to capture and persistently manage new vehicles of information,” said Daniel Greenstein, associate vice provost of libraries at the University of California’s Digital Library project. “It will have to change in order to stay the same.”

Found two extremely interesting articles on the future of library content and delivery. The first is by Clifford Lynch from D-Lib Magazine titled “Where Do We Go From Here? The Next Decade for Digital Libraries. In which Clifford expounds on what the next ten years will be like for digital libraries.

The second took place in ALA’s 2005 annual conference (which I didn’t attend):
OCLC Symposium: Mining the Long Tail: Libraries, Amazoogle and Infinite Availability uses Chris Anderson’s (Wired Magazine) paper The Long Tail to explore the increasing use of content targeting, the future of information resources, and how technology has and will shape how libraries provide services. Of course, Mr. Armstrong is the first speaker but the rest, like John Blossom and Nancy Davenport, also provide great insights into the fluid state of library services.