• a recently retired man interested in starting up his own website
• an equine photographer interested in digitizing her negatives so she can sell her photographs online
• a football player interested in editing video footage to create a highlight reel for college recruiters
• a father interested in digitizing and editing some old home videos
• four of our top six finishers in our recent teen photography contest who came in for a scheduled interview to talk about their interest and inspiration in photography

When I think about the future of libraries, I can’t help but think that educating our users in technology (including digital media creation) has to be a huge part of the equation. That’s why I was so impressed with the Helsinki Library 10 and Meeting Point, recently featured on Walking Paper! These libraries look like what would happen if you took our single-room DML and just kept expanding its space and services.

Check out these great slides as well:

Michael Porter

• libraries need a new electronic content distribution and access infrastructure
• libraries operate on content and community
• an organization needs to be created to develop this type of system, one that can articulate why we need to do this and to get the programmers and the legal experts to work on this
• an organization that isn’t pre-existing so that it isn’t bound by anything
• question from audience: what is “it” exactly?
• problem: amazon and apple (itunes) have created electronic access infrastructures that are proprietary and have shut libraries out completely

Monique Sendze

• smart phone and augmented reality
• superimposing digital data on top of reality
• libraries becoming more intelligent with sharing data with patrons
• walking into a library and holding up your phone, getting information about materials (reviews, related programs, subject headings) right away
• qrcodes – 2d barcodes
• sacramento and contra costa libraries are on their way to using qr codes
• using qr codes for readers advisory. putting on popular materials. qrcodes provide read-alikes and reviews. mobile tagging.
• qrcodes out in the community to help ppl connect to the library’s materials, services, and events even when they’re not in the library building
• not mainstream yet but it has a future in libraries
• question: who’s going to develop those augmented reality apps?
• question: how are you going to train staff on many different phones so they can help patrons? a: no different from the plethora of e-readers out there and knowing how to use those devices. a new type of librarianship where we can provide assistance with technology devices.
• kate: we can’t say “no” anymore, we need to get in there and figure it out
• michael: if we keep in mind our mission, we’re going to be fine because we’re going to do things to keep up with what ppl want, which includes technology

David Lee King

• e-book readers
• first e-book: 1971
• right now at least 20 different manufacturers creating e-book readers
• many different operating systems and formats
• different kinds of screens
• like the 1990s with video, lots of different formats, manufacturers, etc.
• all going to change in a few days with the ipad coming out
• 1984 apple changed the computer industry
• ipod changed music industry
• iphone changed cell phone industry
• ipad is going to do the same thing to the gaming industry and the e-book industry
• thinks ipad is going to be a better e-book reader because of the touch tech, color, screen, multi-touch, publishers involved (six large publishers), other features
• how does this affect libraries? can your entire staff use e-books if patrons ask. huge problem.
• another problem, a lot of these ppl will go around libraries now and go directly to apple
• will libraries check out e-book readers and how will this happen?
• michael: the ease of access to the content really made the iphone attractive
• also, apple had the distribution system figured out with iphone and itunes, exact same thing is happening to the ipad
• michael: don’t think about the brand (apple, netflix, etc), but think about the functionality instead. why do ppl like to use something? what do they do that makes them successful?
• twitter q: how do we train our staff if we can’t afford to buy these tech gadgets? d: friends group is funding purchase of tech toys. k: patrons might have gadgets and might be willing to show staff how to use these tools
• michael: makes him angry that we’re the info professionals and we have to ask patrons to use something that we can’t afford to provide. we’re the best at this, why can’t we get the things we need? we need something new.
• monique: vendors should be giving us these devices
• question: what about the ppl who are the have nots, the ppl who don’t have this tech.
• michael: if we can’t figure out how to crack the “content” nut, we’re not going to have enough support to keep the lights on.

Kate Sheehan

• Change in the Digital Divide
• jessamyn west recently did a presentation on this, slides available at librarian.net
• we’re usually talking about the “haves” when talking about top tech trends
• to some extent, we need to make some peace with that. BUT we’re heading down a dangerous path if we completely ignore the ppl who have not
• we’re getting more ppl coming online, ppl need instruction and help with technology
• ppl are going to come in with their stuff and want to have content that works with what they have
• libraries are safe places to learn about technology, we’re nice and not going to judge ppl about lack of knowledge or skills
• monique: stats show that 40% of americans still don’t have internet in their homes, big problem. for quite some time yet, libraries are going to be that safe haven for the havenots. however, we need to be mindful that we’re not pushing away the haves and the more advanced users. perfect example: charlotte’s imagineon
• dlk: find out who you’re customers are focus on serving them. don’t think of it in terms of the underserved and overserved. in topeka, “underserved” are the upper middle class who don’t live near the library. the lib has never tried serving them. that’s who the lib in topeka needs to focus on.

• What is the Digital Media Lab?
• Why did we create it? What were our goals and what did we identify as the need?
• How did we pull it off? What went into the planning process?
• What was and is the result? How has the public responded and used the lab so far?
• What are our plans for it? What are some possible programs and services that will come out of the lab?
• What can you do? What are some tips to help you empower your own community to work with digital media?

I hope more libraries in the area will consider doing something to help their users work with digital media and one of the points I’ll make is that it can start with just one Mac mini if you want to ease into it. We’ll see how the response is today!

Here are my presentation slides (large pdf file!) in case you’re interested:

Let’s face it, there are a lot of people out there who haven’t used or even thought about using their local public library since they were in high school. Naturally, there are also a lot of people who don’t think their community should invest in building a new library or even improving the one they have. Jamie Larue touches on this issue in his recent blog entry, “Seven Arguments for Building New Libraries.” Each of his points is important, but a few stand out to me:

Argument #3 – Library buildings are a bridge over the digital divide. Libraries are about access, and our record of allowing digitally disadvantaged people – poor, young, elderly, etc. – to use public technology to bootstrap themselves out of technological ghettos is real.

Argument #4 – The Internet encourages, not replaces, library use. Every time we add more Internet terminals, the use of everything else goes UP – more books checked out, more browsing, more magazines read, more reference questions, more program attendance. There’s a lot of data about this (see the Library Research Service).

Argument #6 – Library buildings manifest and reinforce a statement of community values. The library is a tangible sign of a community’s commitment to individual inquiry, a safety net for the young and old, a secular sanctuary for people who need public space either for public contact or for private pondering. I remember pondering this comment from a member of the Greatest Generation: “In my day, we lived in modest homes, but built significant public monuments. These days, we live in palaces, and build government buildings out of split-face concrete.”

For me, it says a lot about a community if people care about their library and invest time, energy, and resources into it. I love hearing about new library building projects and seeing a community gain a sense of pride from their new library.

Anyway, I recommend checking out Jamie Larue’s full blog entry. It’s definitely worth reading.