Competency H
Demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and users of libraries and other types of information providing entities.
Introduction
The opportunities and challenges confronting the library in the 21st-centrury will push the boundaries between the physical and virtual environments of information, affecting the relationship between users, information and the library. Proactive outreach, awareness, and flexibility to changes in technologies and resources will enable the library profession to move forward, to in fact thrive, while addressing challenges and competition from outside commercial and non-commercial sources. Library patrons are technologically savvy and their expectations of the library reflect their technological inclinations. Factors contributing to the resources and users of the library include: collaboration, internally through library digital forums, and externally between information organizations; communication as a learning behavior and as a learning experience; and application of new methods of information searching, which enable the library to remain a rich resource of electronic and print materials for many years to come. Embracing change and new roles in the library will allow for a very dynamic future for the library.
Information and Communication Technologies
Technology, the Internet, and digital communication are some of the most influential change in the library profession since the advent of the printing press. Technology changed the traditional information format: the prevalence of the Internet, cell phone and smart phones, laptops and tablet devices, along with the now ubiquitous computer, have all contributed to the technological landscape evident today. The concept of Web 2.0, defined as “participatory information sharing, interoperability, and user-center designed collaboration on the World Wide Web” (ODLIS [digital] 2012) is reflected in the many ways librarians and information professionals create and search for information. As social tagging, algorithms, hyperlinks and social networks dot the landscape of Web 2.0, libraries are responding and becoming forums to access Web 2.0 resources. Patrons increasingly expect the library to provide computers for internet access, and use the library to conduct their online business. A comprehensive website is the calling card and one-stop-shop of many patrons, and we can expect to see the library website increasingly become the physical space of the library. A website will never supplant the services of a library or information professional, as the abundance of information will always necessitate the information manager’s skills in assessing, evaluating and creation of classification systems, but the architecture and accessibility of the library’s virtual spaces will increasingly dictate the users’ methods and behaviors to obtain information.
Resources of the Library
Increasingly, the library patron is expecting online journals, wikis, blogs and social networking to reach out and provide the information they need. The physical library is becoming less about what the patron obtains from the library, and more based upon the experience the user has (Hendrix, p.11). As the services of the library change to accommodate digital resources, paradoxically, the demand for more open, usable space is growing (ibid, p.15). We see libraries becoming social hubs, outfitted with coffee lounges and gathering spaces. Online chats are an example of an online resource, allowing twenty-four hour a day access to a librarian. Virtual reference, often referred to as Second Life, is a forum in which the patron may enter and meet with like-minded persons from around the world. Photo-sharing creative commons, through websites as Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) and Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/), are important tools to use and promote through the library, allowing for an interactive, collaborative environment. YouTube videos have become an important resource to educators and librarians alike, with supplemental “how to” videos and online curriculum. An example of an online video is Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/), which utilizes video medium to create short tutorials for math, science, art history, and many other topics. Libraries can expect to see this trend continue throughout the 21st Century, emphasizing the need for flexibility, evaluation and awareness of the roles that free and commercial electronic resources, outside of subscription, will play in the library.
Users of Library and Information Centers
The user of the library and information center have new expectations, and with them, new roles and opportunities for libraries have been created. An example of today’s primary audience is the distance learner who, as demonstrated through my courses at San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science (SJSU SLIS), have an exploding role in the electronic resource collection development decisions, curriculum and mission of the school, down to the very space the library inhabits. Library websites are increasingly the portal user’s first, or only, access, and underpins the importance of a user-centered library website that encourages interaction and outreach on the part of library staff. Users of libraries and information centers are increasingly tech savvy: 90% of all adults in the U.S. have a cellular phone, and as of March 2012, 46% of adults and 23% of children age 12-17 own a smart phone (Pew Research [digital], 2012). The user is mobile, technology centered, internet connected, and demand that their information be accessible as such. This shift toward collaborative and digitized information has changed the way the user approaches information. Learning becomes discovery based, and the direction, once a one-way push into the classroom, is now a two-way, push-pull of online learning communities (Hendrix p.6). This is behavior has altered the information seeking process (ISP), shifting to a process of discovery that is browsable and collaborative. Indeed, these behaviors have shifted the theories of what literacy, reading and learning is (ibid, p.6).
The result of expanded communication resources is collaboration: it is occurring across many departments, fields and disciplines, and clearly reflecting the global stance the profession has taken. Through collaboration and conversation, creation of knowledge and learning occur, and education and experience opportunities go beyond information literacy skills (Hendrix, p.15). Whether through collaboration within an academic setting, in which a librarian may collaborate with a subject specialist, or through a public library, in which collaboration between another social service organizations, the opportunity to build and foster strong relationships between other like-minded information organizations is essential. Not only important to the success of the profession, but inextricably linked to the success of the patron’s access to unfettered information services.
Evidence
As my first evidence, I demonstrate my proficiency in communication technologies through a YouTube video interview and catalog exploration involving the U.C. Berkeley Map Library, in Berkeley, California through LIBR 220 (LIBR 220-UC Berkeley Map Collection). During this interview, I was able to correlate a the cataloging procedure with different material throughout the library, offering a authoritative overview of cataloging standards and how they are applied to the unique challenges of a map, spatial, or visual document.
As a second evidence, I demonstrate my in-depth knowledge of collaboration between different fields facilitated by technology and digital information. Through LIBR 244 Online Searching exploratory essay (LIBR 244-OA Research Paper), I researched the advantages and disadvantages of Open Access (OA) publishing. OA provides standards for open publishing in an online forum, encouraging peer review and collaborative communication. While OA’s initiative may have failed at this date in time, the dissemination across all scientific fields and disciplines had an overarching message of collaboration, digital archiving and storage, while maintaining high standards of scholarship and access.
Conclusion
As the boundaries between information, communication and digital information blur, the role of the librarian has become increasingly collaborative and technologically oriented. Physical spaces within the library react to the growing demand computers in the physical space, and online electronic resources in the virtual space. Technology and communication has essentially changed the way we and our patrons learn and access information, and provide opportunities for the library profession to thrive.
References
Hendrix, Jennifer C. (2010). “Checking out the future: Perspectives from the library community on information technology and 21st-Centruy libraries”. ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, Policy Brief No.2, February 2012.
Pew Reserach Center (2012). [digital]. Retrieved April 13, 2012. http://pewresearch.org/topics/
Introduction
The opportunities and challenges confronting the library in the 21st-centrury will push the boundaries between the physical and virtual environments of information, affecting the relationship between users, information and the library. Proactive outreach, awareness, and flexibility to changes in technologies and resources will enable the library profession to move forward, to in fact thrive, while addressing challenges and competition from outside commercial and non-commercial sources. Library patrons are technologically savvy and their expectations of the library reflect their technological inclinations. Factors contributing to the resources and users of the library include: collaboration, internally through library digital forums, and externally between information organizations; communication as a learning behavior and as a learning experience; and application of new methods of information searching, which enable the library to remain a rich resource of electronic and print materials for many years to come. Embracing change and new roles in the library will allow for a very dynamic future for the library.
Information and Communication Technologies
Technology, the Internet, and digital communication are some of the most influential change in the library profession since the advent of the printing press. Technology changed the traditional information format: the prevalence of the Internet, cell phone and smart phones, laptops and tablet devices, along with the now ubiquitous computer, have all contributed to the technological landscape evident today. The concept of Web 2.0, defined as “participatory information sharing, interoperability, and user-center designed collaboration on the World Wide Web” (ODLIS [digital] 2012) is reflected in the many ways librarians and information professionals create and search for information. As social tagging, algorithms, hyperlinks and social networks dot the landscape of Web 2.0, libraries are responding and becoming forums to access Web 2.0 resources. Patrons increasingly expect the library to provide computers for internet access, and use the library to conduct their online business. A comprehensive website is the calling card and one-stop-shop of many patrons, and we can expect to see the library website increasingly become the physical space of the library. A website will never supplant the services of a library or information professional, as the abundance of information will always necessitate the information manager’s skills in assessing, evaluating and creation of classification systems, but the architecture and accessibility of the library’s virtual spaces will increasingly dictate the users’ methods and behaviors to obtain information.
Resources of the Library
Increasingly, the library patron is expecting online journals, wikis, blogs and social networking to reach out and provide the information they need. The physical library is becoming less about what the patron obtains from the library, and more based upon the experience the user has (Hendrix, p.11). As the services of the library change to accommodate digital resources, paradoxically, the demand for more open, usable space is growing (ibid, p.15). We see libraries becoming social hubs, outfitted with coffee lounges and gathering spaces. Online chats are an example of an online resource, allowing twenty-four hour a day access to a librarian. Virtual reference, often referred to as Second Life, is a forum in which the patron may enter and meet with like-minded persons from around the world. Photo-sharing creative commons, through websites as Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) and Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/), are important tools to use and promote through the library, allowing for an interactive, collaborative environment. YouTube videos have become an important resource to educators and librarians alike, with supplemental “how to” videos and online curriculum. An example of an online video is Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/), which utilizes video medium to create short tutorials for math, science, art history, and many other topics. Libraries can expect to see this trend continue throughout the 21st Century, emphasizing the need for flexibility, evaluation and awareness of the roles that free and commercial electronic resources, outside of subscription, will play in the library.
Users of Library and Information Centers
The user of the library and information center have new expectations, and with them, new roles and opportunities for libraries have been created. An example of today’s primary audience is the distance learner who, as demonstrated through my courses at San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science (SJSU SLIS), have an exploding role in the electronic resource collection development decisions, curriculum and mission of the school, down to the very space the library inhabits. Library websites are increasingly the portal user’s first, or only, access, and underpins the importance of a user-centered library website that encourages interaction and outreach on the part of library staff. Users of libraries and information centers are increasingly tech savvy: 90% of all adults in the U.S. have a cellular phone, and as of March 2012, 46% of adults and 23% of children age 12-17 own a smart phone (Pew Research [digital], 2012). The user is mobile, technology centered, internet connected, and demand that their information be accessible as such. This shift toward collaborative and digitized information has changed the way the user approaches information. Learning becomes discovery based, and the direction, once a one-way push into the classroom, is now a two-way, push-pull of online learning communities (Hendrix p.6). This is behavior has altered the information seeking process (ISP), shifting to a process of discovery that is browsable and collaborative. Indeed, these behaviors have shifted the theories of what literacy, reading and learning is (ibid, p.6).
The result of expanded communication resources is collaboration: it is occurring across many departments, fields and disciplines, and clearly reflecting the global stance the profession has taken. Through collaboration and conversation, creation of knowledge and learning occur, and education and experience opportunities go beyond information literacy skills (Hendrix, p.15). Whether through collaboration within an academic setting, in which a librarian may collaborate with a subject specialist, or through a public library, in which collaboration between another social service organizations, the opportunity to build and foster strong relationships between other like-minded information organizations is essential. Not only important to the success of the profession, but inextricably linked to the success of the patron’s access to unfettered information services.
Evidence
As my first evidence, I demonstrate my proficiency in communication technologies through a YouTube video interview and catalog exploration involving the U.C. Berkeley Map Library, in Berkeley, California through LIBR 220 (LIBR 220-UC Berkeley Map Collection). During this interview, I was able to correlate a the cataloging procedure with different material throughout the library, offering a authoritative overview of cataloging standards and how they are applied to the unique challenges of a map, spatial, or visual document.
As a second evidence, I demonstrate my in-depth knowledge of collaboration between different fields facilitated by technology and digital information. Through LIBR 244 Online Searching exploratory essay (LIBR 244-OA Research Paper), I researched the advantages and disadvantages of Open Access (OA) publishing. OA provides standards for open publishing in an online forum, encouraging peer review and collaborative communication. While OA’s initiative may have failed at this date in time, the dissemination across all scientific fields and disciplines had an overarching message of collaboration, digital archiving and storage, while maintaining high standards of scholarship and access.
Conclusion
As the boundaries between information, communication and digital information blur, the role of the librarian has become increasingly collaborative and technologically oriented. Physical spaces within the library react to the growing demand computers in the physical space, and online electronic resources in the virtual space. Technology and communication has essentially changed the way we and our patrons learn and access information, and provide opportunities for the library profession to thrive.
References
Hendrix, Jennifer C. (2010). “Checking out the future: Perspectives from the library community on information technology and 21st-Centruy libraries”. ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, Policy Brief No.2, February 2012.
Pew Reserach Center (2012). [digital]. Retrieved April 13, 2012. http://pewresearch.org/topics/