James W. Marcum. PhD, MSLS

September 2012

Perceiving the Complexities: What characterizes our ‘age’?

Perceiving the Complexities: What characterizes our ‘age’?

Perceiving present COMPLEXITIES

Professional Mindset

• Learning support; traditionally:– reactive– print-bound – preservationist

– Davenport & Prusak, Information Ecology (1997).

– vague on purpose, “unreflective”– tunnel vision, isolated discourse

– J. Budd, G. Radford, W. Wiegand, et al.

• Future sustainability requires rethinking these traditions and becoming proactive, interactive

• But will style and new gizmos do the trick?

Challenge: Intense Competition• For instantaneous, “good

enough” information• Acquire books (new, used, or e-) with reviews and information• Digital Library:

– databases, e-books• Web 2.0– webinars, wikis, games

• Social Media– Twitter– Facebook, etc.

Facebook is training

500 million people how

to collaborate online….

SOCIAL MEDIA: Constant Interactivity

Challenge: New Knowledge/BIG DATA

 

CHALLENGE: A visual culture is taking over the world” - J. Naisbett, Mind Set (2006)

• Design, architecture, entertainment, fashion… and the ubiquitous camera.

ASSUMPTION…• “The role of library education today is not to simply train

people to perform the library functions of the past (public services, cataloging, collection development, etc.),

• Or even to prepare people to perform the new library functions of the future (information technology literacy, digital resources, knowledge management, etc.).

• But rather to prepare people to transform and develop the organizations that will assure the basic functions of the library are available to culture and society in the future.”

» J W Marcum

VISION: Revive “reading”• Free voluntary (extended) reading produces

better–vocabulary– spelling–writing–with longer retention and–more and better reading in the future.

• …than formal instruction.– S. Krashen, The Power of Reading, 2nd ed. 2004.

VISION: lead in the knowledge creation process

• On demand books and information• Institutional repository Knowledge Commons• Enterprise; partnerships• NEW VISION: Library as promoter of

community and collaborative creation of new knowledge.

• Lankes, Atlas of New Librarianship

VISION: ChampionInformation Culture Literacy

Promote the steady progression from• LITERACY, to• INFORMATION LITERACY, to• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LITERACY to• VISUAL LITERACY, to

• INFORMATION CULTURE LITERACY: What is it that people need to be able to do to function effectively in today’s fast changing “informaiton culture”

METHOD:The Collaborative Imperative

In Conclusion:Library Education and the Future

• Challenges:– Popular perception: “against the current”– Changes in social behavior: participation, social media,

e-braries, e-shopping– From administrative perspective: Libraries obsolete?

• Response:– Not a time to “stay the course”– Time to try new things; new roles; new ventures– Multi-wheeled tracks, collaborations, partnerships.

• NOT a time to be passengers on the bus, but time to seize the wheel and drive to a new destination

James W. MarcumJames.Marcum@qc.cuny.edu