Breaking out of the box: libraries without wallsTerry Reeseterry.reese@oregonstate.eduReadex Digital Institute

Libraries today are suffering from an identity crisis – trapped between the traditional roles of a library and the current expectations of its users.

Users want….

So long as it fits on….

Or works with this…

Or this…

Or this…

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Library as its communities primary information provider

• Research collections housed within the library

User Community

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Library as its communities’ primary information provider

• Library facilitates borrowing from other institutions (ILL)

User Community

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Library as an information facilitator– Points users to ejournals

• Splintering of library services– ILL, Virtual Reference, Ejournals, Digital

Collections, ILS, IR, etc.

User Community

Ejournals

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Library one of many information providers available to their users

User CommunityGoogle

MS Live

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Not new– Libraries have traditionally

evolved with technology

• But…– Libraries are no longer the

central repositories for trusted information

Libraries’ evolving roles

• Evolution isn’t necessarily a bad thing– Underlines libraries’ past

successes– Demonstrates a vibrant

information ecosystem which libraries have traditionally cultivated

• Library is now just a part of this ecosystem

Evolving means learning a new language and new rules without losing some of the core library values.

Library 2.0

RSS – Really Simple Syndication

Library 2.0

Wikis

Library 2.0

New Programming Tools: AJAX, API

Library 2.0

Blogs and Blogging

Library 2.0

Commentary and Comments

Library 2.0

Personalization and My Profiles

Library 2.0

Podcasting and MP3 files

Library 2.0

Streaming Media – Audio and Video

Library 2.0

Reviews and User-Driven Ratings

Library 2.0

Recommender Functionality

Library 2.0

Personalized Alerts

Library 2.0

Web Services

Library 2.0

Instant Messaging and Virtual Reference

Library 2.0

Folksonomies, Tagging and Tag Clouds

Library 2.0

Photos (e.g. Flickr, Picasa)

Library 2.0

Social Networking

Library 2.0

Socially Driven Content

Library 2.0

Open access, Open Source, Open Content

Library 2.0

Social Bookmarking

Library’s place• Digital library

development needs to start with an understanding that:– The library needs to be

more transparent– The library needs to look

outside the library community for usable technologies

– The library is no longer their user communities primary research tool of choice

In 5 years, in my library….

• Simple aggregation of resources will not be enough. Databases and Websites will be replaced by mechanisms that fetch information into our users’ workflows.

In 5 years, in my library…

• ‘Intermediate environments’ will be as important to consumers of library services as traditional end-users.

• What are “intermediate environments”?– Think mashups– Think aggregations– Think workflow

Examples?

What can we do?

1. Work with partners No library is large

enough to solve these problems themselves. Libraries have traditionally been able to talk a good game regarding collaboration, but tend to be short on results.

What can we do?

2. Continue to innovate Libraries need to do

more development. Libraries should spend less time looking at their vendors to solve solutions that should be developed within the libraries’ Open Source Community.

What can we do?

3. Open our current systems to outside users

The library community expects groups like publishers, Google, etc. to provide stand access points or harvested metadata, yet we don’t build this facility into our own systems.

IHP

• Interoperability– Supporting the request

and response for many different protocols:• SRU• Z39.50• etc.

IHP

• Harvestablity– Libraries should be

building systems that allow users to harvest their metadata content.

– Libraries need to be willing to give up some control over their metadata and be willing to see their metadata repurposed in other ways.

IHP

• Pluggability– Libraries should look to

build and use systems that allow for the use of microformats.• COINS• UNAPI

Thank You