Are Librarians still under pressure? How to deal with

it? Policies at national, institutional and individual

level

Professor Derek Law,Centre for Digital Library

Research,University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde

18c > James Watt > Steam Engine > Industrial Revolution > Environmental Pollution19c > David Livingstone > African explorer > British Empire20c > John Logie Baird > Television > Baywatch and Big Brother21c > Arthur Van Hoff > Javascript > pop-up windows

Peeping into Utopia

Relevance and co-operationProfessional self-confidenceThe Library as placeData ManagementTraining Preservation

The global village in 2003 - Malawi

$30 annual income90% unemployment18hr a day powercuts60% HIV positiveUnlimited access to e-journals10 x 286 computers in the medical school20% of under 5’s dieLife expectancy 43>38

Why bother getting involved?

Leave it to the market?But we want to change society

Leave it to big countries?But one size doesn’t fit allAnd Sandra Braman scared me!

Small is beautiful?Finland, Latvia, Singapore

Leave it to publishers?But they have no grandmothers

We are producers not just consumers

Librarians with attitude

Trust Me I’m a Librarian

“People become librarians because they know too much. Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories. They cannot be confined to disciplines. Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing. They bring order to chaos. They bring wisdom and culture to the masses. They preserve every aspect of human knowledge. Librarians rule. And they will kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.” (Olson, 2000)

Old Wine in New Bottles

The future lies in the pastThe International Library Movement

Co-operation, co-operation, co-operation

UAP and UBCDocument SupplySelection, storage and support

So you think you know So you think you know more than the Internet?more than the Internet?

““It is not the strongest, the fastest or It is not the strongest, the fastest or even the most intelligent species that even the most intelligent species that survive. It is always the most survive. It is always the most adaptableadaptable””

Charles DarwinCharles Darwin

User not technology driven

The Library as placeSecond most used public serviceIn the USA there are more libraries than Macdonald’s

Staff and students are library conservativesImages are available to all

A picture is worth a thousand words – unless it’s a .jpeg

Communities share a history as well as a presentLibrarians can collect and interpret that

Information arbitrage

Identifying productsIdentifying value for moneyIs the Pareto Principle relevant?Independent, authoritative and right

Law’s LawsURL’s survive 75 days on average404 messagesNo quality control on the InternetNo version control7x24 access is a myth

Law’s First Law:

“Good information systems will drive out bad” ©

A rose by any other name

TaxonomyOntologySemantic webMetadataThe organisation of knowledge

Producers not mouse potatoes

OAISPARCBIOMED CentralThe end of big deals?The failure of the STM modelScientific learned societies are more rapacious than publishersPublishing supports research NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND

Law’s Laws

Law’s Second Law:

“User friendly systems aren’t” ©

Law’s First Law:

“Good information systems will drive out bad” ©

Training and Library as Place

The satisfied inept – staff as well as students

13% get information from the Library

But it’s also a:cybersandpitdating agencylearning space7x24 chatroom

Training ground

Data preservation and trusted repositories

Clearing the studyBuilding research collections for the futureDigital Asset ManagementRepository standards

Trusted repositories: the five Maori tests

Receive the information with accuracyStore the information with integrity beyond doubtRetrieve the information without amendmentApply appropriate judgement in the use of the informationPass the information on appropriately

Seek forgiveness not permission

Go to new placesInvestigate, report, plan and IMPLEMENTLet the organisation know you are doing this

Lights are hidden under bushels for a reasonIt is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong

He who pays the piper may call the tune – but that doesn’t guarantee an audience