ACADEMIC RESEARCH LIBRARIESADAPTING TO THE EMERGING

NEW NORMAL

RECEIVERSHIP OR IRRELEVANCEOR RADICALIZATION

James G. NealNFAIS Annual Conference

26 February 2012

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

• What is the NEW NORMAL?

• What TECHNOLOGIES are having greatest impact?

• How are we thinking and behaving differently about COLLECTIONS and SERVICES?

• What has been the effect on LIBRARY ROLES?

• What has been the impact on ORGANIZATION and STAFF SKILLS?

2

3

SOME DEFINITIONS

• Primal Innovationcreativity as first importance, as a fundamental component

of organizational and individual DNA

• Radical Collaborationdrastic or sweeping energy, and not Kumbaya

• Deconstructiontaking apart the axioms or rules, or the incoherence of a

concept, position or word

• Survivalnot relevance or impact, but persistence and adaptation

4

WHAT ARE THE CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

OF LIBRARIES?

• Information Selection

• Information Acquisition

• Information Synthesis

• Information Navigation

• Information Dissemination

• Information Interpretation

• Information Understanding

• Information Use

• Information Application

• Information Archiving

• In Support of Teaching and Learning

• In Support of Research and Scholarship

5

CHANGING LIBRARY ROLES

• Libraries as Consumers

• Libraries as Intermediaries and Aggregators

• Libraries as Publishers

• Libraries as Educators

• Libraries as R&D Organizations

• Libraries as Entrepreneurs

• Libraries as Policy Advocates

6

THE SHIFTING VISION OF THE LIBRARY

• Legacy

• Infrastructure

• Repository

• Portal

• Enterprise

• Public Interest

7

TREND #1

CUSTOMIZATION/PERSONAL WEB

RAPIDLY SHIFTING USER BEHAVIORS AND EXPECTATIONS

SOCIAL NETWORKING

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE

NEW LITERACIES

8

TREND #2

• AUTOMATE OLD WORKFLOWS• SHALLOW EXPERTISE• NEW COMBINATIONS• RESISTANCE TO OUTSOURCING

REDUNDANT INEFFICIENT LIBRARY OPERATIONS

9

TREND #3

AGING AND INEFFECTIVE

SERVICE PARADIGMS

DISCOVERY FAILURES

USER ALTERNATIVES

SAGE AT THE DESK

10

TREND #4

POLYCENTRISM

DISCONNECTED AND UNEVEN

LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

WEAK PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS AND FORUMS

11

TREND #5

MUTABILITY

CONSTANT CHANGE

HYBRID STRUCTURES

MAVERICK STRATEGIES

12

TREND #6

NEW ECONOMIC CONTEXT

HOW DO WE RESPOND TO

SMALLER BUDGETS

REDUCED PURCHASING POWER

LESS POLITICAL SUPPORT

COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES

13

TREND #7

ACCOUNTABILITY/ASSESSMENT

HOW DO WE KNOW?

IF WE ARE ADVANCING INSTITUTIONAL GOALS

SUPPORTING USER OBJECTIVES

SERVING NATIONAL INTERESTS

14

TREND #8

ACCELERATION OF COLLECTIVE

INNOVATION

APPS REVOLUTION

ENTREPENEURIAL IMPERATIVE

15

TREND #9

GEO-EVERYTHING

GEO-LOCATION

GEO-TAGGING

GIS/MOBILE APPLICATIONS

SMART OBJECTS/SPACES

16

TREND #10

SCALE AND NETWORK EFFECTS

THROUGH AGGREGATION

MOVING OPERATIONS AND SERVICES

TO THE CLOUD

17

TREND #11

COMMON SHARED RESOURCES

FOCUS ON UNIQUE RESOURCES

FUTURE OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

LIE OF COORDINATION

LICENSING OF CONTENT

WEB ROT AND FUTURE OF SCHOLARSHIP

GOLDEN AGE OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

18

TREND #12

NEW MAJORITY LEARNER

EPISODIC

DISTANT

OTHER-DIRECTED

CAREER-FOCUSED

19

TREND #13

OPENNESS

OPEN ARCHIVES OPEN DATA

OPEN DESIGN OPEN SOURCE

OPEN COURSE CONTENT OPEN LINKING

OPEN TEXTBOOKS OPEN ACCESS

20

TREND #14

DEFORMALISM AND DESTRUCTURINGOF SCHOLARSHIP

OPEN ACCESS

FUTURE OF SCHOLARLY MONOGRAPH

WEB COMMUNICATION

RESPOSITORY MOVEMENT

SCHOLARLY REVIEW

21

HORIZON REPORT: TECHNOLOGIES

• Mobiles (single, portable multi-purpose device)

• Cloud Computing (distributed processing and applications)

• Geo-Everything (geolocation and geotagging)

• Personal Web (customized management of online content)

• Semantic-Aware Applications (meaning to provide answers)

• Smart Objects (links physical world with information)

• Open Content (wide distribution and repurposing)

• Electronic Book (platforms, applications, redefinition)

• Data/Big Science (research information management)

• Games As Learning Tools (participation and interaction)

• Visualization and Simulation (more meaningful and intuitive)

RESPOND TO USER EXPECTATIONS

• Content

• Access

• Convenience

• New Capabilities

• Cost Reduction

• Participation

• Individual Productivity

• Individual Control

• Organizational Productivity

22

23

BUILD THE DIGITAL LIBRARY

QUALITY = CONTENT + FUNCTIONALITY

• Published/Licensed Content

• Primary Content

• Open Web Content

• Institutional Content

• Multimedia Content

• Integrated Services

• Software Tools

24

ADVANCE THE REPOSITORY MOVEMENT

• Discipline Repositories

• Institutional Repositories

• Departmental/School Repositories

• Individual Repositories

• Government Repositories

• National Repositories

• Publisher Repositories

25

• Archive as Repository HOLD

• Archive as Persistence ACCESS

• Archive as Curation SECURE

• Archive as Steward CARE

• Analog

• Digital Conversion

• Born Digital

• Disaster Preparedness

PRESERVE AND ARCHIVE THE CONTENT

26

NEW STANDARDS FOR LIBRARY SPACE

THE TROMPE L’OEIL LIBRARY

LEARNING SPACE

SOCIAL SPACE

COLLABORATIVE SPACE

FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

27

PREPARE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT

• Institutional Expectations

• Government/Funder Mandate

• Measures Of User Satisfaction

• Measures Of Market Penetration

• Measures Of Success

• Measures Of Impact

• Measures Of Cost Effectiveness

• System Design For Usability

28

SCHIZOPHRENIC ORGANIZATIONAL MODELSIN HIGHER EDUCATION

• Conventional Administrative Hierarchy

and

Academic Governancy/Bureaucracy

• Centralized Planning and Resource Allocation Systems

and

Loosely Coupled Academic Structures

and

Maverick Units and Entrepreneurial Enterprises

29

ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES AT COLUMBIA

• Center for New Media Teaching and Learning

• Center for Digital Research and Scholarship

• Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia

• Copyright Advisory Office

• Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research

• Center for Popular and Global Music

• Digital Centers for Social Sciences, Humanities, Sciences

30

FERAL PROFESSIONALSIN THE INFORMATION ORGANIZATION

• Professionals With Diverse Academic Credentials

• Wide Range of New Professional Assignments

• Professional Roles of Support Staff and Students

• Impact on Values, Outlooks, Styles, Expectations

• Impact on Community Understanding, Recognition, Respect

• Impact on Organizational Relevance and Impact

31

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE INFORMATIONAL PROFESSIONAL

• Commitment to Rigor

• Commitment to Research and Development

• Commitment to Assessment and Evaluation

• Communication and Marketing Skills

• Political Engagement

• Project Development and Management Skills

• Entrepreneurial Spirit

• Commitment to Collaboration

• Resource Development Skills

• Leadership/Inspirational Capacity

• Deep Subject or Technical Expertise

• Deep Service Commitment

32

PLANNING AND TRANSFORMATION

• Too much planning and too little strategic thinking.

• Existing structures and processes built for slower pace of change.

• Program planning not linked to institutional strategic planning.

• Resource allocations not linked to strategies.

• Planning cycles expenditure-based rather than strategic.

33

DEVELOP NEW RESOURCESFUNDING STRATEGIES

• Operating Budget Reallocation

• New Operational Resources

• External Fundraising

• Research/Service Grants

• Co-Investment

• Public/Private Partnerships

• Technology Transfer

• Entrepreneurial/New Business Development

34

ADVOCATE THE INFORMATION POLICY AGENDA

• INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

• PRIVACY

• CIVIL LIBERTIES

• EDUCATION PROGRAMS

• RESEARCH PROGRAMS

• INTERNET DEVELOPMENT

• TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

• APPROPRIATIONS

• WORKFORCE POLICY

• FIGHTING THE COPYRIGHT WARS

HOPE/POWER/ACTION THROUGH COLLABORATION

35

FORUMS FOR COOPERATION

• Library Systems

• Local and Regional Cooperation

• State Projects

• Multi-State Projects

• National Consortia/Projects

• International Partnerships

• Researcher Collaboration

• Publisher Collaboration

• Collaboration with TechnologyOrganizations

• Corporate Partnerships

• Business Partnerships

REACHING OUT TO CULTURAL COMMUNITY

PROMOTING NEW COMBINATIONS THRU PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

36

ARENAS FOR COLLABORATION

• Centers for Excellence

• Mass Production

• New Infrastructure

• New Initiatives

Quality/Productivity/Innovation

37

SOME COLLECTION ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE SHORT TERM

• Academic Research Libraries Will Continue To Develop Comprehensive Collections In All Formats

• Collections Will Seek To Align With University Academic Priorities and Funding Realities

• Coordination of Collection Development Across the Research Library Community Will Remain Marginalized

• Academic Research Libraries Will Increasingly Focus on Distinctive and Unique Collections In Service To Regional and National Scholarly Audiences

38

SOME ADDITIONAL ASSUMPTIONS

• Academic Research Libraries Will Build Innovative Bi-Lateral and Tri-Lateral Partnerships To Expand Content Access and Delivery

• Preservation and Archiving of the Cultural and Scientific Record Will Remain Balkanized and Episodic

• National and Global Information Policies Will Not Facilitate the Deep Collection Collaboration Needed

• Work of Collection Building Will Require New Approach To Professional Staffing and Organization

39

SOME ADDITIONAL ASSUMPTIONS

• Collections Will Need To Align More Intimately With Teaching and Learning Processes

• User Communities Will Create Their Own Tools For Discovering, Disseminating and Managing Content

• Academic Research Libraries Will Assume Expanded Roles As New Scholarly Communication Business Models Are Implemented

• More Focus Will Be Placed on Data Capture and Analysis To Support Collection Development Decisions

40

SOME COLLECTIVE ACTIONS• National Program of Mass Digitization of Collections

(Digital Public Library of America)

• Global Partnership Among National Digitization Efforts

• More Systematic and Rigorous Approach to Standards and Best Practices

• National Program of Research Library R&D

• Accelerate Concept to Market for Systems and Tools

• New Scholarly Communication Business Models and Assessment Strategies

41

FURTHER COLLECTIVE ACTIONS

• Connections With South Asia and East Asia

• Professional Staff Preparation and Development

• Investments In Policy Action For Openness and Barrier Free Access

• National Program For Preservation/Leadership and Priorities(Last Copy Print Repositories)

• Investigate Appropriate Public-Private Partnerships

• Radicalize Research Library Working Relationships(Library Service Agency Network)

42

ACADEMIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

-1950 Period of EXCLUSIVITY

1950-1970 Period of POPULARIZATION

1970-1990 Period of DISCORD

1990-2010 Period of DECADENCE

2010-2015 Period of POLYGAMY

2015-2020 Period of PARABIOSIS

2020- Period of PARTICULARISM

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

RELEVANCE

IMPACT

VALUE

SURVIVAL

PHYLETIC – one species evolves into another

TERMINAL – termination of species/no descendants43

44

HOW DO WE FEEL?• Anxious - an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear

• Disrupted - interruption of normal course or unity, thrown into disorder

• Chaotic - state of utter confusion, unpredictability in the behavior of complex systems

“Our age of anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today’s jobs with yesterday’s tools.”

Marshall McLuhan

“One of the litmus tests is that a disruptive technology enables a larger population of less skilled people to do things that historically only an expert could.”

Clayton ChristensenThe Innovator’s Dilemma

“Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.”Education of Henry Adams