This article follows the technological changes Lied Library has undergone since its opening in 2001. It covers everything from the costs of printing (and how these costs will have to be increased to support new printers) to switching out older computers for updated ones and the complicated processes and extensive costs associated with keeping up to date technologically.
The two major user groups for this facility are faculty/students and community users. What I found interesting is that although there are far less community users associated with Lied Library, they make up 17% of the computer usage time.
Space management is a challenge, including how to utilize the space and how to manage it to create an environment suitable for computers, students, etc.
One major problem at Lied Library was that the air conditioning was inadequate.
Another challenge is security. Cameras, and a central security management system were installed to assist with this.
Beyond physical security is network security--avoiding viruses/spyware, etc. All patron information is erased once logged off the computers to assist with this (deepfreeze software), firewall installed.
Despite best efforts, some small problems have occurred, including hardware failures and software glitches.
Future challenges:
--as # of students increases, offering equal access to electronic resources will become increasingly difficult.
--remote access will need to be convenient, safe, and easy for students/faculty
--normal maintenance, upgrading will have to occur
--biggest change will be in library leadership.
This article was a great example of the future of libraries. How do we adapt to the ever changing needs of our patrons? I think this is relevant for both public and university libraries. The large amount of growth of students and information technology literate patrons will require that we step up to challenge of providing electronic access to as large a patron base as possible, in several formats. The Lied Library is just one of many libraries that are learning to adapt to these changes and planning for the future needs of its patrons.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Information Library and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture
This paper is a "response to the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council" (introduction). The author addresses the issue from a generalist perspective, as someone who has had a wide range of experience in several roles related to the issue.
Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy:
--To Lynch, information technology literacy is an infrastructure that affects much of our lives, including: legal, social, economic and public policy issues. Technology provides tools that allow us to interact with the infrastructure.
--Information literacy encompasses content/communication, research, authoring, analysis, evaluation, etc. Content=several forms and purposes, exs: text, visuals, computer simulation, multimedia work, used for exs: news, art, entertainment, education/research, ads, commerce, politics, etc.
--Both are essential, interrelated, should be taught closely to one another
--Information technology shapes the way we create and use information; thus information technology literacy and information literacy can be codependent.
Information Technology Literacy:
--2 perspectives:
1) focuses on skills in the use of tools (software, computers, internet browsers, email)
2) focuses on understanding how technologies, systems, and infrastructure work, both superficially and at a deeper level.
--skill-oriented training is only good for short term (these date very quickly and can be useless later on)
--objectives should include fluency w/ tools, design principles, and learning/using software (including trouble shooting, solfing problems, programming)
Ex: Simulation tools: important to understand how to construct, analyze, AND use them
--How does the technological world work? Understanding this is key.
--Not just pcs
--needs to consider technology infrastructures that impact us daily, such as telecomm, broadcasting, publishing, and so on.
--Many learn specializations but not the broad components related to technology (skill-oriented rather than understanding the broader perspective AND the task related skills)
--Lynch asks: "Why is it valuable?" He then states that this knowledge is going to become more and more important (I totally agree with him here...everything we do is becoming more reliant on technology.) Not being able to understand the greater principles that support information technology literacy will limit "one's ability to function intelligently in society."
Information Literacy:
--Authoring and critical/analytical reading need to include the "full range of visual and multimedia communication genres." examples: interactive media, fluidity of digital forms, editing ability/fabrication ability of "facts."
--Computer based searching--important to not only understand how it works but to know searching techniques and how information itself is accessed electronically.
--Need to form a conceptual map of information space and where to look for specific information.
--Ownership/use of intellectual property is an issue in information policy and how we manage all this information
My thoughts: What was fascinating about this article was that Lynch drew attention to the fact that information technology really has permeated every aspect of our society. Although I was aware of this fact, it is a fact that is easy to ignore. Unfortunately, I feel as though he acknowledged this idea, he didn't go into enough detail. Though it was from a generalist perspective, I think that addressing more in depth the relationship between information technology literacy and information literacy would have been beneficial to me. The dynamics between the two and how we are going to educate the public (kids, students, etc) is something that needs to be considered.
Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy:
--To Lynch, information technology literacy is an infrastructure that affects much of our lives, including: legal, social, economic and public policy issues. Technology provides tools that allow us to interact with the infrastructure.
--Information literacy encompasses content/communication, research, authoring, analysis, evaluation, etc. Content=several forms and purposes, exs: text, visuals, computer simulation, multimedia work, used for exs: news, art, entertainment, education/research, ads, commerce, politics, etc.
--Both are essential, interrelated, should be taught closely to one another
--Information technology shapes the way we create and use information; thus information technology literacy and information literacy can be codependent.
Information Technology Literacy:
--2 perspectives:
1) focuses on skills in the use of tools (software, computers, internet browsers, email)
2) focuses on understanding how technologies, systems, and infrastructure work, both superficially and at a deeper level.
--skill-oriented training is only good for short term (these date very quickly and can be useless later on)
--objectives should include fluency w/ tools, design principles, and learning/using software (including trouble shooting, solfing problems, programming)
Ex: Simulation tools: important to understand how to construct, analyze, AND use them
--How does the technological world work? Understanding this is key.
--Not just pcs
--needs to consider technology infrastructures that impact us daily, such as telecomm, broadcasting, publishing, and so on.
--Many learn specializations but not the broad components related to technology (skill-oriented rather than understanding the broader perspective AND the task related skills)
--Lynch asks: "Why is it valuable?" He then states that this knowledge is going to become more and more important (I totally agree with him here...everything we do is becoming more reliant on technology.) Not being able to understand the greater principles that support information technology literacy will limit "one's ability to function intelligently in society."
Information Literacy:
--Authoring and critical/analytical reading need to include the "full range of visual and multimedia communication genres." examples: interactive media, fluidity of digital forms, editing ability/fabrication ability of "facts."
--Computer based searching--important to not only understand how it works but to know searching techniques and how information itself is accessed electronically.
--Need to form a conceptual map of information space and where to look for specific information.
--Ownership/use of intellectual property is an issue in information policy and how we manage all this information
My thoughts: What was fascinating about this article was that Lynch drew attention to the fact that information technology really has permeated every aspect of our society. Although I was aware of this fact, it is a fact that is easy to ignore. Unfortunately, I feel as though he acknowledged this idea, he didn't go into enough detail. Though it was from a generalist perspective, I think that addressing more in depth the relationship between information technology literacy and information literacy would have been beneficial to me. The dynamics between the two and how we are going to educate the public (kids, students, etc) is something that needs to be considered.
Five Year Information Format Trends
Intro:
Market Trends:
librarians faced with tons of content and several formats.
new information dissemination technologies
new technologies are shaping the way we access info
tighter budgets, smaller workforces--how to deal?
government/university budgeting
Popular Materials:
--Print on demand seen as the future of popular materials, as worldwide book sales go down (I found this surprising!)
--Ebooks are performing as expected/fell short of 2001 expectations. (This is definitely something I expected. Ebooks are tiring to read--looking at a computer screen is much harsher than reading a book, and there's something about the familiarity of a book that I prefer.)
--More journals are becoming available online; decline in newspapers.
--A/V expected to increase over the next few years/videos doing well, a/v circulation increasing. (In the year I've worked in a library, I have seen the amount of a/v material circulation increase, so I expect that this will continue as we become more reliant on technology to provide us with information.)
Scholarly Materials
--Looked @ books, scholarly journals, articles, eprint archives, theses, etc.
Books:
--Similar trends as for other formats
--Book Spending down
--University Press spending down
--ex: Stanford cutting workforce and # of books published. (Although I expected this to be the case, it's still slightly surprising, especially since Stanford generally publishes well regarded, high quality materials.)
Journals:
--Primary titles moving to an online status
--Researchers prefer electronic format. (I love searching for journals electronically. I think it's very convenient and a definite time saver, so I can understand why this is such a popular trend.)
Scholarly Articles:
--Idea of an "issue" is going out of date
--Move from traditional formats to eprint archives, etc.
Eprint archives:
--expanding! 135 per workday (estimated)
--Open access contributing to the popularity of this format (imo)
Theses and Dissertations
--Shift to electronic formats, # of paper theses/dissertations decreasing moderately.
--digital is increasing.
Electronic Course Management Materials
--Econtent increasing, expected to double by 2007. (does anyone know if it HAS actually doubled, being it's 2008 and all??)
--I am pretty sure at least 50% of college courses are available via course management systems at this point.
Digitization Projects:
--Many agencies are providing the $$ (yeehaw!) to assist with these projects.
Commercial:
Gale Group and ProQuest
National:
gov't funded, ex: Gallica 2000 and the British Library
State/Local:
Colorado Digitization Project/Everett Public Library Everett Massacre Project (go WA!)
Web Resources:
--Library usage down
--Internet= #1 choice, most internet users believe they will find reliable info online
Surface Web:
--readily available web sites/accessible through open search engines
--web site growth slowing (I didn't expect this to be the case at all! I expected it just to keep growing, and growing, and growing...but I guess it has to plateau at some point.)
--Mary Ellen Bates says "The question is whether their online searching skills are linmited to finding MP3 files and pictures of Britney Spears..." I think this quote underestimates the ability of students to utilize the internet.
Deep Web:
--not accessible through open search engines
--includes: library catalogues, other databases, non-textual web pages (interesting!), and document repositories and ejournals
Summary:
Info format is changing and expanding.
--Popular/Scholarly papers aren't just paper only now; they include paper, POD, and electronic versions
--POD "bears watching" (this still doesn't seem like it's growing all that much to me.)
--websites slowing down, # of stuff on them expected to grow exponentially.
--Digitization as the most significant new format by 2007.
Market Trends:
librarians faced with tons of content and several formats.
new information dissemination technologies
new technologies are shaping the way we access info
tighter budgets, smaller workforces--how to deal?
government/university budgeting
Popular Materials:
--Print on demand seen as the future of popular materials, as worldwide book sales go down (I found this surprising!)
--Ebooks are performing as expected/fell short of 2001 expectations. (This is definitely something I expected. Ebooks are tiring to read--looking at a computer screen is much harsher than reading a book, and there's something about the familiarity of a book that I prefer.)
--More journals are becoming available online; decline in newspapers.
--A/V expected to increase over the next few years/videos doing well, a/v circulation increasing. (In the year I've worked in a library, I have seen the amount of a/v material circulation increase, so I expect that this will continue as we become more reliant on technology to provide us with information.)
Scholarly Materials
--Looked @ books, scholarly journals, articles, eprint archives, theses, etc.
Books:
--Similar trends as for other formats
--Book Spending down
--University Press spending down
--ex: Stanford cutting workforce and # of books published. (Although I expected this to be the case, it's still slightly surprising, especially since Stanford generally publishes well regarded, high quality materials.)
Journals:
--Primary titles moving to an online status
--Researchers prefer electronic format. (I love searching for journals electronically. I think it's very convenient and a definite time saver, so I can understand why this is such a popular trend.)
Scholarly Articles:
--Idea of an "issue" is going out of date
--Move from traditional formats to eprint archives, etc.
Eprint archives:
--expanding! 135 per workday (estimated)
--Open access contributing to the popularity of this format (imo)
Theses and Dissertations
--Shift to electronic formats, # of paper theses/dissertations decreasing moderately.
--digital is increasing.
Electronic Course Management Materials
--Econtent increasing, expected to double by 2007. (does anyone know if it HAS actually doubled, being it's 2008 and all??)
--I am pretty sure at least 50% of college courses are available via course management systems at this point.
Digitization Projects:
--Many agencies are providing the $$ (yeehaw!) to assist with these projects.
Commercial:
Gale Group and ProQuest
National:
gov't funded, ex: Gallica 2000 and the British Library
State/Local:
Colorado Digitization Project/Everett Public Library Everett Massacre Project (go WA!)
Web Resources:
--Library usage down
--Internet= #1 choice, most internet users believe they will find reliable info online
Surface Web:
--readily available web sites/accessible through open search engines
--web site growth slowing (I didn't expect this to be the case at all! I expected it just to keep growing, and growing, and growing...but I guess it has to plateau at some point.)
--Mary Ellen Bates says "The question is whether their online searching skills are linmited to finding MP3 files and pictures of Britney Spears..." I think this quote underestimates the ability of students to utilize the internet.
Deep Web:
--not accessible through open search engines
--includes: library catalogues, other databases, non-textual web pages (interesting!), and document repositories and ejournals
Summary:
Info format is changing and expanding.
--Popular/Scholarly papers aren't just paper only now; they include paper, POD, and electronic versions
--POD "bears watching" (this still doesn't seem like it's growing all that much to me.)
--websites slowing down, # of stuff on them expected to grow exponentially.
--Digitization as the most significant new format by 2007.
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