New edition forthcoming!

I mentioned this briefly in my last post, but I am happy to announce that a third edition of The Neal Schuman Library Technology Companion will be coming out this summer! I submitted a manuscript, and am working on revising it now. Aside from a chapter on technology skills which includes the survey data mentioned below, the new edition updates every area of the work that has altered over the two and one-half years since the last edition. I'll let you know more about it as the work progresses.

Technology skills in libraries survey results

In late November/early December 2008, I created a web survey on technology skills in libraries (the questions used in the survey are available here). Respondents were solicited from 14 electronic discussion groups which covered multiple library types as well as a diverse range of specialties or areas of focus in libraries. Over the three week period that the survey was available, exactly 1800 individuals responded.

The respondents are not a perfect cross-section of library staff from all types of libraries. 54% work in academic libraries, 25% in public libraries, 11% in special libraries, and 10% in school libraries. In terms of education, 80% listed an MLS degree, other masters degree, or other graduate work as their highest level of education. Those who chose a single primary area of responsibility were fairly well distributed among library departments and tasks: 16.4% in cataloging, 16.3% in library administration, 13.7% in reference, 10.2% in library IT/systems, and 8.1% in instruction. 20% of respondents chose “Other” on that question, and nearly half of that group said that they performed all or nearly all of the tasks in their libraries. 36% of respondents have worked for 10 or fewer years, 35% for 21 or more years, and 28% between 11 and 20 years.

Respondents were asked to select from a list the technologies or technology skills that they used on a regular basis in their jobs. The ten most common ones, with the percentage of respondents who selected them, were:

E-mail - 97.9
Word processing - 96.2
Web searching - 94.1
Searching library databases - 92.7
Using an integrated library system - 86.3
Web navigation - 80.7
Teaching others to use technology - 79.1
Spreadsheets - 78.3
File management/operating system navigation skills - 62.3
Troubleshooting technology - 61.9

The remaining items in the list of technologies showed a great diversity of skills on hand, including instant messaging (at 32.6%; a percentage I thought might be higher) and creating online instructional materials/products (at 43%). "Making technology purchase decisions", at 40.2%, indicated to me that these decisions are not being made widely throughout organizations, but this role appears to reach beyond the percentage of respondents indicating their primary duties as administrative.

The "Other" category on this question exposed a number of technologies that I should have included in my list, most notably wikis and social networking in general.

I asked respondents "what technology skill could you learn to help ou do your job better?" The most common answers were web design, HTML, various Web 2.0 applications, creating databases, and using Access. Nearly 200 indicated that they did not see a need for additional technology skills (some suggesting that technology skills are not the answer to all needs in their libraries). A very common response was a need for more time to learn any number of things about current and developing technologies.

I also asked them "what technology or technology skill would you most like to see added to your library?" The most common responses here involved blogging, instant messaging, podcasting, SMART boards, wireless (access, printing, etc.), new integrated library systems (ILS), and talents in web design, Web 2.0 technologies, programming, and graphic design. A sizable number of responses suggested that they and their colleagues needed to be more comfortable with the technologies they already had.

More details from the survey will be available in the new edition of my book, which should be in print this summer. I hope these results are of interest and advance our collective understanding of what skills and competencies are widely present and/or required in libraries. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have on the survey.

Perceptions 2008: an International Survey of Library Automation

Perceptions 2008: an International Survey of Library Automation
The results of Marshall Breeding's most recent survey of library automation systems. It's an interesting look at libraries' satisfaction with the systems they are using and the glimpse of the market share each system enjoys.

Who The Hell Writes Wikipedia, Anyway?

Who The Hell Writes Wikipedia, Anyway? - Some interesting background on the population of contributors who create and alter Wikipedia entries. It's a big group of occasional contributors whose articles are massaged by a smaller group of "insiders." Definitely worth a read.

Google Books vs. BISON - 6/15/2008 - Library Journal

Here's an article from Library Journal comparing searches in an individual library catalog vs. searching Google Books: Google Books vs. BISON - 6/15/2008 - Library Journal. It raises interesting questions about the service that the local catalog provides set against the ever-expanding collection of materials at Google Books.

7 Things You Should Know About... | EDUCAUSE

This is an excellent resource for quick (two page) reads on a variety of new technologies or web resources (lots of library and web 2.0 items). We have shared a number of these with our faculty members.

Inserting RSS feeds on Your Library Site

Would you like your library blog or other RSS feeds to show up on a page on your library site? The following link gives some examples for doing so (all are free):

RSS to Web Page: Tool Output Examples

Some nifty Microsoft things

Two quick links to two new Microsoft technologies: the table computer (see a brief video and a link to a parody of it at http://geek.lisnews.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/03/0634226. Move stuff around on a big flat table screen; draw and browse with your hands!

The other is Photosynth (see a video presentation of it at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129 and try out the tech preview on your own computer at http://labs.live.com/photosynth/). Intriguing visual technology that lets you easily zoom in and out of images while maintaining incredible resolution. Well, there's more to it than that, but take a look!

Mashups and Customized Search Engines

Here's a link to a presentation I gave recently (well, on Friday) on mashups and CSEs. Some interesting examples are linked from the site, and a few work in progress efforts of my own. Check it out: http://www.users.muohio.edu/burkejj/mashups.html

Make mine a mashup!

I just listened to a great podcast from the Sirsi Dynix Institute (a great technology updating tool, by the way) by Darlene Fichter on mashups (check out the PDF of resources and listen to the podcast yourself).

What are mashups, you may ask? Mashups are combinations of data from two (or more) different sources to create a new resource or service. For instance, the BBC News Map combines an RSS feed of stories featured on the BBC with Google Maps. The result is a visual representation of where in the UK recent news stories have occurred.

Libraries are trying to use mashups to enhance services to their users. Darlene notes some interesting examples in her PDF file and presentation. One that I found useful is Libraries 411, which identifies your location from your IP address and then shows the locations of nearby public libraries. Another mashup by Edward Vielmetti combines Amazon book covers with links from the Ann Arbor District Library's catalog to create the Wall of Books.

I have been messing around with Yahoo Pipes to make some mashups. It's a very nice click and drag way to visually construct a mashup. A very simple one I have working so far is this one, which combines recent news stories from the Association Press, the BBC, and World Press Review, and sorts them by title. Is this useful? Well, maybe. But it's a start. I'll let you know as my mashup experiments continue.

Survey says . . .

Here is a link to a survey on Technology Innovation in Academic Libraries: https://surveys.montclair.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1170955344511. While it has an academic focus (it's for a panel session at the upcoming ACRL conference at the end of March), the questions may be food for thought on how you and your library are using technologies, seeking to innovate, or perceiving disruptive technologies in your setting. I'll post the results of the survey once they become available.

Quick CSE Search Update

I know it's been a while since my last post. Here is a quick update on my CSE topic (see below). Bill Drew (SUNY - Morrisville) posted the following Google search which results in CSEs that are related to libraries or librarians in some way: http://tinyurl.com/39hco7 will get you there.

It doesn't include my still-in-progress Ohio academic library CSE, and others may also be left out, but it's an intersteing look at what people are doing with this in libraryland.

Library 2.0? Come again?

You can hardly turn around in the world of library technology without running into mention of Library 2.0 and its impact on today's libraries and their services. I thought I'd put a brief post together linking you to a lengthy definition and a shorter interpretation of it, and an interesting meme map that brings together many of the concepts behind Library 2.0 in a single diagram (my thanks to David Rothman and Meredith Farkas for posting these links to the Web4lib discussion group). Of course, here is also the link to an evolving definition of Library 2.0 at Wikipedia.

Sneakily, I have failed to offer my own sense of Library 2.0. I am still working on that and will share my thoughts here as they coalesce. And, for truth in advertising, the term "Library 2.0" does not appear in my book, but I would say that a lot of the concepts and technologies wrapped up in the term are addressed quite well in three of my chapters (and piecemeal elsewhere). Chapters 9 ("A is for Amazon, G is for Google: The Internet’s Impact on Finding Information"), 10 ("Universal Design and Adaptive/Assistive Technology: Meeting and Supporting Patron Technology Needs"), and 11 ("Virtual Reference, Blogs, and Usability: Library Web Sites and Web Services").

Balance and innovation

Two articles in the January 2007 American Libraries caught my eye. "Balancing the Online Life" (pp. 42-45), by Meredith Farkas, introduces a new AL column of hers called "Technology in Practice" -- highlighting stories of technological innovations and success stories from libraries. The article itself is a good read on the current state of Web tools that many in the library community have brought into our daily lives (and she also touches on the issue that while we may have a generation divide in these technologies, that may be narrowing).

Also, Stephen Abram's short piece "20 Tips to Inspire Innovation" (pp. 47-48) is a quick read of thoughts on approaching changes in your library. Not all of them are technological in nature, but I think they can be applied to the larger picture of our library services. Three, "1. Good not perfect," "3. Prefer action over study," and "17. Cheap is expensive," really spoke to me.

The virtual presence of libraries

In case you missed the Fall 2006 netConnect supplement to Library Journal, let me recommend Karen Coombs article "Planning for Now and Then." It's a great (albeit short) introduction to the concept of Library 2.0 and some of the tools that libraries are putting in place to enhance their virtual reach. Links to a variety of existing projects and discussions are provided.

Alas, poor NOTIS! I knew him, Horatio . . .

Marshall Breeding's excellent Library Technology Guides site offers a visual chronology of library systems and mergers and acquisitions in the industry. It does give one some pause as you consider the possibilities of choosing a vendor (for library systems or anything else) who may not be around for more than a few years. NOTIS was around for nearly twenty years and now is ten years gone. On the other hand, a some of the vendors have been around in some form for 20 or 30 years.

Longevity of any technology provider, let alone the technologies themselves, is something of a crap-shoot. This state of affairs does show the importance of flexibility in technology planning and adaptation. We need to go into any new system or service with the idea that future events could alter them entirely, staying aware of those events and being prepared to shift when the time comes. As well, existing, foundational pieces of our library services must also be viewed with question.

The chart shows that predictions are few, changes are many, and that yet, somehow, libraries and their technologies persevere.

Books: Print 'em as you need 'em!

As will soon become obvious, I am catching up on a few topics that I meant to get to in December. First (well, maybe second after the CSE update): the Espresso Book Machine from OnDemandBooks. A
story from CNN provides the details, and the vendor's site includes some further links and a video of the machine in operation.

Fast facts: Two books, printed and fully bound, created in seven minutes. The New York Public Library will receive one in February. You can have one of your own for $50,000. 2.5 million books are currently available (1 million in English, all in the public domain).

So, does this mean that providing printed books on demand is a viable concept in libraries? Well, not exactly, at least until the number of books expands and the entry price goes down. But for the moment, it is an interesting possibility for a library to use to expand its collection without expanding the required space for printed copies. Small libraries could expand their collections exponentially for a $50K investment. Larger libraries could avoid using interlibrary loan to track down public domain materials; just print them in house. There's quite a move on now to just buy inexpensive copies of ILL-requested items from Amazon.com auctions and then give the book to the patron. Isn't this much the same?

Well, there are obviously a lot of holes here. But I am interested to see NYPL give this a try and watch how the idea expands. I hope we'll hear more about this in the months to come.

A CSE attempt

As a follow-up to my post on CSEs, I have created one (almost two, but I haven't had the time to finish the other). I set up a CSE that searches the websites of Ohio's twenty-three regional campuses. I know what you're thinking: "how can I advertise on this search engine?" 8-) Is this a useful thing? Will this help anyone? Why would I make my own search engine? Well, I am trying to answer all of these questions, and I am about to announce this search engine to a wider group of people to see what might come of it. I'll let you know. Oh, and if you'd like to see it yourself -- here it is: Ohio Regional Campus Search.

The Year That Was . . . 2006

If you're looking for a quick wrap-up of stories and activities from the library world of last year, check out the LIS News Ten Stories That Shaped 2006 . There are a goodly number of technology-related happenings to take note of (or that update ongoing issues noted in the book). I especially liked the bonus quote in #6, and the link to a discussion of barriers that tech-savvy library staff.

Digital Divide: The Three Stages (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

A very interesting discussion (and recasting) of the digital divide (which I cover in Chapter 10) by Jakob Nielsen - usability and web design guru. He brings in further issues that separate people from using computers and the Internet at all, or even if they have access, from using them fully. Aside from the economic and usability barriers, his comments on empowerment and individuals' lack of intiative to fully participate in the digital world are worthwhile to consider. Check it out!

Read more at www.useit.com/alertbox/...