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The Impact of Technology on Society & Libraries

LS 501: Introduction to Library & Information Studies

Revised Summer 2006, 2010, 2011

C.2003, Deborah J. Grimes

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What Is Technology?

Webster’s New World Dictionary & Thesaurus a method, process, etc. for handling a

specific technical problem the system by which a society provides its

members with those things needed or desired

Not necessarily electronic --

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Impact of Technology on USA 1600s -- Survival, subsistence, colonialization

Ship-building, small hand tools, farming and agricultural equipment, natural tools (potash, tallow), mills, charcoal and iron production

1700s -- Community self-reliance, catalyst for revolution, emerging commerce, new wealth Building materials, home furnishings, printing, arms and weapons,

Conestoga wagons (East/West commerce), factories 1800s -- National infrastructure, industrial age, nationalism, international

markets, communication, individualism, women’s work, war as impetus for technological advancement Bridge and road-building, steamboats and canals, machine manufacturing,

local v. European technology, railroads, telegraphy, iron and steel, homemaking, food production

1900s -- Systematizing, social solutions, individualism, education, city-building, leisure, medical science, war promotes technology Electricity, telephones, radio, TV, building materials (concrete), skyscraper,

photography, mining, bicycles and sports, automobiles, medicine and diagnostic equipment (MRI, CAT, etc.), food preparation (canning, freezing), airplanes

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20th Century Information Technologies

Before the ‘60s Communication and transportation

improvements “Punch cards” Reprography (reproduction of print

documents) into film (microforms) -- 1920s Duplicating and photocopy machines

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Computer in Libraries (1960s) Computers in the 1960s = “contemporary sense of

technology” “Library mechanization” or “library automation” System Development Corp.(SDC), DIALOG (Lockheed,

1964) MARC format (Machine Readable Cataloging) -- created

by Library of Congress -- standardization of bibliographic records -- allowed electronic storage

Bibliographic utilities originated National Library of Medicine -- changed to computer tapes

and eventually a searchable database ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency

Network) -- important first step toward the Internet

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Computer in Libraries (1970s) Mainframes and minis -- made online interactive

capabilities a reality Most significant break from past practices: application

of online computer access to information retrieval, replacing card catalogs and print indexes

Most online services originated in academic libraries because databases were primarily scientific and technical Specially trained librarians Separate facilities and resources First inroad of fee-based services Creation of search strategies (Boolean searching)

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Computer in Libraries (1980s) Revolutionary development of the Compact Disk-Read

Only Memory (CD-ROM) -- commercial vendors Development of online computer access catalogs

(OPACs) or Public Access Catalogs (PACs) Turn-Key circulation systems -- commercial vendors Self-initiated systems Automated acquisitions Integrated Library Systems (ILS) -- DRA, VTLS, Geac,

Ameritech Linked Systems Project/Linked Systems Protocol (LSP)

established Z30.50 standard protocol (i.e., national standard for bibliographic information retrieval so that different systems can be linked electronically)

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OCLC 1967 -- Ohio College Library Center -- most prominent

bibliographic utility -- originally for academic libraries 1972 -- OCLC opened services to non-academic

libraries 1981 -- Online Computing Library Center -- offered

access to the MARC database, supplemented by cooperative cataloging of member libraries

Research Libraries Group (RLG), Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) -- bibliographic databases and research records

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Is technology revolting? Is the “age of information” really an “information

revolution”? Notable “revolutionary” technology

Transportation revolutionized by locomotion Communication revolutionized by mass production,

telecommunications, photography and other printing techniques, television, motion pictures

Is the “computer revolution” any more dramatic than other technological revolutions of the last 100 years?

Does the tool become greater than its purpose or service?

Used to reduce the impact of distance, time, location

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Information Revolution First modern information revolution

Mid-19th through mid-20th centuries Telegraph, telephone, radio Little impact on government, international relations

Second modern information revolution Following WWII Television, early generation computers, satellites Great impact on personal, business, international life

Third modern information revolution - -beginning of the Knowledge Revolution ?

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Top 10 CountriesComputers-in-Use, 2008

Rank Country Year-End 2008 2008 (millions) % total

1 USA 264.10 22.19%2 China 98.67 8.29%3 Japan 86.22 7.24%4 Germany 61.96 5.21%5 UK 47.04 3.95%6 France 43.11 3.62%7 Russia 36.42 3.06%8 Italy 35.69 3.00% 9 South Korea 34.87 2.93% 10 Brazil 33.30 2.80%

TOTAL WORLDWIDE 1,190.10

Source: Information Please Almanac (online) , 2009

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Percent US Adults Who Use Computers, December 2008

Source: Information Please Almanac 2009 (online)

Category Per Cent

Women 75%

Men 73%

Generation

Gen Y (ages 18-29) 87%

Gen X (ages 30-49) 82%

Boomers (ages 50-64) 72%

Matures (ages 65+) 41%

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Percent US Adults Who Use Computers, 2008

Source: information Please Almanac 2009 (online)

Category Per Cent

Race and Ethnicity

Whites 77%

Blacks 64%

Hispanic (English-speaking) 58%

Household Income

<$30,000 57%

$30,000--$49,999 77%

$50,000--$74,999 90%

$75,000+ 94%

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Computer Usage in U.S.(Per Cent Adults Who Use Computers -- 2008)

Source: Infoplease.com/ipa/A0908342.html

Category Per Cent

Education

Less than high school 35%

High school grads/GED 67%

Some college 85%

College graduate/graduate degree 95%

Geographic Location

Rural 63%

Urban 71%

Suburban 74%

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The Emergence of The Internet (1990s) What is the Internet?

Electronic network that permits access to thousands of computer networks; a network of networks using standardized practices

Department of Defense ARPANET + National Science Foundation (NSF) 1984 NSF established supercomputing centers that required a

highspeed telecommunications backbone ARPANET funding beginning to decline NSFNET backbone created for civilians (particularly universities)

National High Performance Computing Act of 1991 -- “information highway” and National Research and Education Network (NREN)

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Internet Timeline

1969 -- ARPA goes online connecting 4 universities 1972 -- E-mail introduced by Ray Tomlinson, using @ 1973 -- TCP/IP designed (becomes standard 1983) 1976 -- Jimmy Carter & Walter Mondale use email to plan

campaign events; Queen Elizabeth first state leader to use email

1982 -- Word “Internet” used for first time 1984 -- Domain Name System (DNS) established with address

extensions (.com, .org, .edu) 1985 -- Quantum Computer Services becomes AOL 1988 -- Internet Worm shuts down 10% world’s Internet servers 1989 -- First dial-up IP, Archie (ITP Archive), WAIS, WWW 1991 -- Gopher point-and-click navigation (Univ. of Minnesota)

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Internet Timeline 1994 -- White House launches web site, e-commerce, spamming,

Netscape introduces Navigator browser 1995 -- CompuServe, Prodigy, AOL start dial-up Internet access,

Sun Microsystems releases JAVA, www.Vatican.va launched 1996 -- Approximately 45 million using Internet, with 30 million in

North America 1997 -- NASA broadcasts Pathfinder photos from Mars 1999 -- College student Shawn Fanning introduces Napster; 150

million Internet users worldwide (50% from US) 2000 -- “Love Bug,” “Stages,” and other computer viruses

circulated; “dot.com’s” fall 2001 -- 9.8 billion email messages daily 2002 -- 164.14 million US uses the Internet with 544.2 worldwide

users

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Features of The Internet: ABCs, Nicknames, and Abbreviations

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (standard communication protocol)

E-mail -- personal and professional benefits (remember the invisible college?)

Bulletin boards and listservs Remote login Telnet IP addresses File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Navigation tools, browsers, Gopher

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Percent Households with Computers, 1998 and 2003

Source:http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0931441.html

Location 1998 2003

All 42.1% 61.8%

Alabama 34.3% 53.9%

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Est. 1997 -- university/research consortium to foster the development of advanced Internet capabilities (in partnership with government and industry) -- expanded to K-20

Indiana University Abilene [KS] Network -- advanced backbone

Internet2http://www.internet2.edu/

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The World Wide Web (WWW) European Particle Physics Lab (CERN) -- Switzerland

-- 1989 The Web is not the same as the Internet but an

interface and navigation tool that helps structure Internet documents.

Hypertext originated for transmitting scientific information among researchers

Expanded to business, industry, students, and general population

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) -- What’s the difference?

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Technolust and Technojunkies

Assumes that the new is always better than the old and that what is in development must be better than what just hit the market

Tupperware mentality? Technology to recreate the universe (an end in itself) v.

technology to connect people? Why does technolust matter?

Extreme projections of doom and gloom Unwilling to consider alternative viewpoints Real-world economics not considered Sees a simple future Can’t integrate technology smoothly into workplace OTOH: technojunkies push us toward change

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Services

Redesign of physical space -- equipment, facilities, service centers, wiring, ergonomics, costs

“Library without walls” concept -- does electronic technology change or replace the role of the library?

Online catalog -- more thorough information (not just what but where, if checked out, etc.)

Extended services -- word processing, statistical analysis, desktop publishing, local area networks (LAN)

Networks -- ability to reach beyond the library walls , reciprocity among libraries

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Services

American Library Association (Fred Weingarten) ‘s five roles for libraries and librarians on the NII

On-ramp of first resort On-ramp of last resort Navigator/guide Archivist/depository/authenticator Organizer of public information space

Web 2.0 (O’Reilly & Dougherty ’04) Library 2.0 Trends & models that survived the .com crash (collaborative, interactive,

dynamic, users created as much content as they consumed), multisensory rather than textual, matrix not a collection of dialogues, user-centered

‘Biblioblogosphere’ – home of discourse on Library 2.0 Library 2.0 examples: user-centered/created, blogs, multi-media, ‘socially

rich, communally innovative, virtual community See www.webology.ir/2006/v3n2/a25.html by Jack M. Maness Read anything/everything by Marshall Breeding (Vandy)

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Collections Definition of “collection” has changed: access v.

ownership Financial costs challenge “free library ethic” blur lines

between commercial and not-for-profit providers Online vendor systems facilitate acquisitions --

Amazon.com model (catalogs, reviews, ordering -- all in one database)

Outsourcing Knowledge of hardware, software, network necessary in

addition to knowledge of collection development Balancing open access to Internet and quality control

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Electronic Publishing

What print publications should disappear? Ready reference, almanacs, indexes, statistics, etc.

Downloadable formats for the mass market? (multimedia) Library-of-the-Month Club? CD-ROM magazines?

Textbooks, encyclopedia, art, other niche markets Project Gutenberg (aka “Replicator Technology”)

Michael Hart -- 1971 -- $ 1M computer time -- transferring hundreds of print texts into electronic format with volunteers !

E-Journals (not those in databases) Vaguely defined, numerous formats, technology in

transition, complement not replacement to print

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Electronic Books Early 1990s -- publishers began to digitize books (Sony’s portable e-books,

CD-ROM encyclopedia/multimedia, Adobe Acrobat, Portable Document Format [PDF])

Download to PCs, hand-held PDAs, proprietary readers (Kindles and Ipads) – publishing on demand

“Digital paper” and “e-ink” in development by Xerox, MIT, IMB, Motorola Format standards = none (but US Dept. Commerce convening groups to

develop common standards) Legal issues

Title is tied to device, making sharing difficult and resale impossible (unlike print books)

Buying v. licensing Readers’ issues -- Pricing, portability, comfort, privacy See “Electronic Books: To ‘E’ or not to ‘E’; That Is the Question” at

http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/apr00/ardito.htm by Stephanie Ardito in Information Today

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Instruction

Library skills, library instruction, bibliographic instruction

One-on-one computer training Online training (tutorials) Group/class computer training Train-the-trainer Information literacy, computer literacy

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Technology & Preservation Preserving legacy of the past while ensuring long-term

accessibility of digital records in a rapidly evolving technical world

Print resources of past 150 = significant portion of US cultural heritage All post-1850 books pubns at risk due to acidic paper

used in manufacturing with unbleached wood pulp (LC estimates that 77,000 books become brittle annually.)

Electronic resources, esp. magnetic media, subject to both physical deterioration and hardware obsolescence

Exacerbating circumstances: multiplicity of formats, age and scope of collections, variation in life expectancy, no warning signs of deterioration in electronic formats

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Three Arenas for Advancing Preservation National Efforts

ARL and CLIR, ALA, LC, NEH; National strategy to address brittle books (microfilming) ; NEH US Newspaper Program (microfilming); proactive solutions to change formats (elimination of acidic paper production)

Collaborative Programs Cooperative agreements for preserving specific collections -- Am.

Theological Lib. Assoc. filming deteriorating theology serials, monographs; ARL dividing up task for microfilming publications from 1870-1920 among member libraries

Institutional Programs Local, individual efforts of research libraries to deal with their own

collections (esp. properly controlled temperature and humidity, deacidification, reformatting)

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Preservation “Keepers of the Crumbling Culture”

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Special Issues in Digitized Collections “Mediated” materials (i.e., anything that uses equipment

for access, such as microfilm, CD-ROM, etc.) -- more complex problems of preservation

“Ephemeral-ness” of online resources (not “fixed” in place like traditional print ) -- issues of authenticity and accuracy-- hard to catalog but they’re doing it!

Costs are considerable, particularly for retrospective conversion

Scanning v. bitmapping (to improve search capabilities for scholars/ researchers)

Current digitization projects are really pilot projects for future consideration

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Human Resources

New positions -- require different skills, training (esp. older staff), systems staff (culture clash?), “accidental” positions?

Organizational changes -- outsourcing, patron-initiated service, blurring between public and technical services

Human beings -- ergonomics and physical concerns, “technostress” Compulsive use of technology Tension caused by degree of individual and organizational

adaptability to new technologies Adaptability of human mind to increased pace and lack of

repose (exaggerated by technology)

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“Graying of the Profession”

US librarians older than their counterparts in most comparable professions

1990 -- 50% age 45 and over; 1994 -- 58% age 45 and over Rapid increases in technology over past 20 years > OJT training,

workshops, conferences, classes Other impacts of age of librarians and technology?

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: New Jobs?

Technology Consultant Information Specialist Technology Training Coordinator Head of the Digital information Literacy Program Head of Computer Services Systems Librarian Web Page Librarian Cybrarian Internet Services Librarian

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Are Libraries to Become Museums of Failed Technology? 8 track tapes, audiotapes, videodisks, Betamax video, CD-

ROM, etc. Maintaining hardware (equipment) for software storage

devices -- what is the “shelf life” of information technology? How do libraries decide which technologies to adopt? How do libraries decide what to do when one medium

gives way to the next? Paper v. digital

Long-term benefits Long-term problems

Ultimately > the new improves or sustains the old

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Implications of Computers in Libraries: Mission

Is technology value-neutral?

Is technology in libraries the means or the end?

Are we developing electronic warehouses?

Is the purpose of technology to benefit the user or those who provide the service?

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Technology’s Challenge to Librarians:

Bringing the best of new technologies to bear on the best of library traditions and values

Coming up: Using the best of library traditions and values for social advocacy