DISRUPT OR BE DISRUPTED
THE RESPONSIVE, ACTIVE LIBRARY,THE PEOPLE, SPACES, TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES OF THE FUTURE. - examples of library transformations, an exploration of the future for libraries
Uncommon Grace The Autobiography of Isaac Folorunso
THRIVING ON DISRUPTION The reinvention of the public library
1. DYNAMIC DISRUPTION:
RE-INVENTING THE LIBRARY
Liz McGettigan BA MCILIP ACMI FRSA
Director of Digital Library Experiences
SOLUS
@lizmcgettigan
liz@sol.us
2. “ Changes enabled by digital technologies that occur at a pace
and magnitude that disrupt established ways of value creation,
social interactions, doing business and more generally our
thinking”
Riemer 2013
17. Augmented reality being used
by student nurses at Sheffield
Hallam University to allow tutors
to assess how they
communicate with patients.
The idea behind the technology
is to bring the training
mannequin to life and the iPad
application contains various
scenarios, recorded by actors,
to make the situation feel more
realistic for the students.
50. It is clear that
librarianship of the future
is not for those who seek
a quiet refuge or who
won’t embrace ongoing
change in the
information, technology,
and community needs
landscapes.
52. Get closer to customers- gain knowledge
and engage - Build digital bridges to them
Identify a list of the next things your customers want and
quickly give them the few that are easiest for you to deliver
Take advantage of new free platforms, tools
and relationships - Make your customers feel
part of a community
ENGAGE CUSTOMERS
53. Reassess your spend and innovate in the
right places
Create your own digital transformation
vision and plan
Create digital leadership, change the
culture everyone a disruptor
TO DO
54. Incremental change will not be enough,
radical transformation is required if we
are to meet these challenges
A big part of our business model has been based on the fact that books were scarce and information was hard to find, The public library’s role was once to equalise access to the knowledge and skills required for Joe Public to learn, thrive and succeed and the means to do that was books.
Fast forward and that currency moved from books to equalising access to the internet and online information.
Fast forward again and now the job is equalising access and skills around the new and fast developing technologies from coding and circuit making to self-publishing and augmented reality.
You wont hear me talk a lot about books today and you will hear many librarians don't like e.g. "business,“ income “ customers, advertising," "promotion," and "ROI." Accepting these terms and embrace their function can revolutionize the culture and expand the reach of your library.
So what is digital disruption now? What disruptive innovation or development is going to rock the library world in the near future ?
How do we stay up there and morph into the relevant “next” library ?
Disruption is the word of the decade but it is not a new phenomenon. Egyptians made reading easier with papyrus, monasteries chained their books . The printing press totally disrupted the world of manuscripts and scribes and Newspapers emerged to fill a need for timely information.
Music executives ran screaming to lawyers when kids started downloading music. Travel agents scratched their heads when people booked holidays online without their help. Look at banking: The majority of consumers under the age of 30 may not even have stepped foot into a bank in the past year.
We have been used to disruption in libraries. Who remembers the Browne issue? Oh dear fancy trying to make a reservation that way theses days?
I remember when the Plessey light pen system was introduced and wow I didn’t think life could get much more exciting or more high tech!
One of the biggest disruptors and biggest step forward was the People’s Network. Giving every library in the UK Internet access, and training for library staff
This makes me so sad as we totally failed to capitalise and develop this opportunity
By now this should have been the UKs national library platform
MOBILE HAS OVERTAKEN DESKTOP AS MEANS OF ACCESSING THE INTERNET With 91% of mobile owners sleeping within arms reach of their mobile device it is safe to say that we are both addicted to our mobile device and dependent on it. Mobile has also become the most popular content consumption platform as it has now passed up newspaper and magazine readership (combined) mobile disruption has already taken flight
– The library in your pocket
The app which started as the first in Edinburgh is now in 70 local authorities across the UK
Technology isn’t just disruptive, it is changing the way we communicate.
Perhaps the most obvious trend is the impact of social media, but that doesn’t make it less disruptive. With top Social Networks like Facebook and YouTube both exceeding a billion monthly active users it has completely redefined the way we build and maintain relationships.
. In a world where our technology is so pervasive that we spend most of our time looking at our phones like this
Self service
What a hoo hah! But it is now in place almost everywhere enabling staff to support customers everywhere
Staff counters are gone and staff are interacting on the floor with customers on content, accounts and many other information areas
In the same way that libraries once enabled access to the internet for those unable to do so, there is now a similar need to equalise opportunity and access to other newer technologies.
Just providing basic Internet access is no longer anything to write home about, as technology is changing our world and the world of libraries fast!
We can thrive in this world but there will not be a “one size fits all” all libraries must engage with their communities. We must listen to them, talk with them constantly, understand their expectations and create experiences that they will love.
21st century public libraries must become digital hubs — one-stop destinations to test drive and learn about the latest technology. They should be experiential, entrepreneurial, experimental spaces where access to technology enhances opportunities to learn, work and create.
Game-changing trends are coming in business, technology, workforce, economy, security, and environment. Exponential new technologies are emerging in digital money, mobile commerce, and big data.
An explosive new middle class of over one billion consumers will enter the marketplace. Every nation, job, business, and person will be transformed.
to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape we have to become predictive, adaptive, and agile—to become Future Smart.
Here are just a few
Learning is changing, the way people communicate and interact is changing
The future of learning is a creative experience, using groups, sound and touch. Augmented reality provides additional information so the user can view the world in a different manner.
It is about giving learners engaging and fun learning experiences and enabling them to create content.
Who’s going to help Joe Public with this stuff if not us?
This short film shows how AR impacts on learning and the way people will learn in the future
I think even I could have been a surgeon if this sort of learning had been available – MAYBE NOT!
..and all of this does rather beg the question…? What has your library / service got for me in1/2 years time? I used to ask 5 -10 years time? what will a library be/ do be for her?
for everyone t experiment with new technologies but it needs some serious leadership and creative thinking
I know from the work I do that the space the customer or community wants is critical
Equally so is understanding the shift in customer behaviour to much more visual and interactive way of absorbing information.
People want to touch , contribute, create and to get involved
Learning on giant discovery tables / I pad lets our customers add and interact alone or in groups – Case study has shown amazing results with adults and children with attention or learning difficulties
Great for local history and heritage workshops and classes
Touch, contribute learn! This is an expectation from toddlers too!
3D printing - Now becoming as standard as internet access across the country
Libraries have always incorporated game play; traditional treasure hunts and board games and more recently using consoles. Library Treasures is a natural extension, giving users a gaming experience within the Library, on their own device.
It is more than a game it is a as complex eco-system extending beyond the game space to involve 3D printing of the characters, networks of people in a variety of roles and rich interactions and the literacy skills in book and story production.
Libraries can be the new cool for a whole new audience
Augmented Reality is a real one to watch for libraries and provides interpretation and access to digital heritage and collections. This app transposes old images onto new , maximising how personal devices can be better used and enliven history with interactive temptation boards and displays.
I think this is a real USP for our fabulous collections and for involving communites
Who is going to equalise access to these new technologies if not us the public library?
For me it’s the same as equalising access to books and the Internet
ROBOTICS
Other innovations include early adopters of robots in an American library teaching language and other skills? Don’t replace your staff just yet! Northamptonshire libraries are doing some great work in this area
Who is going to equalise access to these new technologies if not us the public library?
For me it’s the same as equalising access to books and the Internet
Occulus Rift is a real one to watch and has amazing collection discovery, global learning and income generating potential
the cloud has completely changed how accessible everything in our digital lives can be. Think about how our files, data, applications and security are all managed by the cloud?
The cloud has made us a lighter world as we can carry tablets or light appliance type PC’s and never be without our “Stuff.” This also invades our more traditional digital media assets such as our music, movies and photos. Anyone still have a big CD collection?
Other than the collectors and hoarders, most of us would say we haven’t bought a CD in years, but our music is still with us each and every day.
Big Data - worth 10 billion a year!
Advent of the internet and the proliferation of user devices like smartphones, there has been an unparalleled explosion in the amount of data being produced. Our web searches, tweets and text messages, YouTube videos, credit card payments and medical records are all now Big Data. Indeed, we’re now producing data so quickly that we will produce five years than all the previous years combined.
Locked within all that data is information, which can improve decision-making, helping make organisations large and small more competitive.
Analytics
What an opportunity for improved marketing and personalisation. The trend however is much bigger than just advertising, it is an opportunity to completely customize the human experience. It is without question that data will continue to be managed, parsed and utilized by companies to better target and manage consumer interactions. With the rapid proliferation of wearable technologies the ability for us to create data in our offline lives is becoming completely intertwined with our online experience.
So where do libraries go with this?
”We are in a technology tsunami. Whether you love it or hate it, ultimately we have to figure out how to survive it and make it work for us”
But HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM
The public whether they use us or not see us as key to civilisation and an equal society. And much of that is what has saved us so far? But yes indeedy we have a problem well maybe more than 1!
Yes - technical digital or funding problems but somethings more basic – Bravery, Creative thinking, Profile, Publicity, Marketing, Modesty, Image leadership . So what’s next for us? How do we sell our expertise?
…we can handle disruption can’t we? I believe we can become the launchpad for a new future
We still have a lot of unique and desirable things going for us. People like us we have amazing spaces. We still like live human to human connections. In a recent (2013) study it was verified that we like our live interactions when more than 75% of the respondents said they want to attend more live in person events in the coming year. So perhaps technology is driving us to be more connected by virtual means, but as humans we still seek the social interaction. Yhe Library?
I was fortunate to be at the NEXT library festival in Denmark and amazed at what has been achieved. But it was achieved through serious and constant work with the community – Listening, talking learning
The result amazing fabulous spaces for everyone and every age It was about building a place for dreams – an extraordinary place to make extraordinary people
Our competition is fierce.
What are we up against in terms of “time – poor” customers and their expectations? Googleshops, Starbucks, McDonalds, Apple??? All providing fab locations and excellence in customer experience.
Like us McDonalds are providing free Internet access and gadget bars and gaming but with the added value of better burgers and coffee. Confronted with huge competition libraries must redefine themselves, their services, business models, and missions. How do we find a new narrative that could shape the cultural changes required to invent that new library?
Some new spaces
What about a drive-in Library?
If I had time I’d show you this short film about a drive in library – It came from listening to customers - an answer to busy customers problems
What’s missing from these 4 images?
A library without books was once unthinkable. Now it seems almost inevitable. That decision will be just one milestone in the rapidly developing identity crisis of 21st-century libraries.
I believe If in talking to people they want emerging technologies more than they want books, libraries have to respond to that, even if it means closing up shop and moving entirely online.
This also came from listening to customers - an answer to customers needs
21st century public libraries are places for creative collaboration. Ideas big and small can be imagined, researched and developed through innovative library programs, collections and partnerships.
Across the world, librarians have been experimenting with ways of changing, by opening these “maker spaces”. Some look askance at the library morphing into a bookless social club for gearheads and gadget nerds. , but both maker spaces and Library as Incubator–style places engage library customers so well and support them to produce their own content.
I hear you say can anyone professional really be librarian, programmer, maker, social worker, and employment consultant? No. Librarians can’t do it all…but librarians can help a community do it all.
Makeovers make extraordinary places which in turn creates extraordinary people and communities
Places to linger
Places to hangout
Meeting and work spaces that offer openness and privacy too. Business meeting spaces
Spaces for young people -Libraries letting teens brand their space, choose colours and images
………………….creating experiences - Spaces to enthral new audiences
…and investing in cool chic gadget bars a whole new people’s network
These extraordinary spaces clearly make extraordinary people
Winner of LCL awards 2014 Libraries as enterprise spaces What a difference we can make to the local economy and this LCL award for enterprise libraries has shown this.
We have a huge opportunity to support this agenda today more than ever
The pace of disruption will just get faster – just a few of the next disruptors will be
I-Beacon technology - For example, if you walk into the teens area of the library you might get a message about what’s happening in the teen section that day, or get a message about an upcoming teen event.
So think location-based promotion of events and content.
Many libraries still don’t even accept cards?
Artificial intelligence scares everyone a wee bit and we don’t know how it will evolve – If you’ve been paying any attention to the media over the past year or so, you might get the impression that it’s only a matter of time before the threat of artificial intelligence comes to destroy us all. It is a contest of limited expectations vs. limitless possibilities
This is IBM’s Watson computer which famously learned how to curse after reading through the Urban Dictionary, During the development of Watson, engineers were having trouble trying to teach it a natural pattern of speech that more closely emulated our own, rather than that of a raw machine speaking in perfect sentences. To fix this, they figured it would be a good idea to run the entirety of the Urban Dictionary through its memory banks, promptly after which Watson responded to one of the team’s tests by saying
“I’m Afraid I Can’t Let You Do That Bullsh*t, Michael”
LIBRARY SERVICES PLATFORMS
“library services platform,” a new generation of products with advancements beyond the traditional integrated library systems (ILSs).These products are designed to manage both print and digital content, tend to be deployed using cloud computing technologies, and make more use of knowledge bases for more efficient resource management.
Do you fit the spec?
BRAVE -Adaptable. Creative. Leader. Tech-savvy. Marketer. Service-oriented.
Successful librarians must embrace change, work well with ambiguity and uncertainty, be willing to pick up new skills all the time, focus on the needs of increasingly diverse communities, meet people where they are and get them to where they need to be, be able to articulate and move toward a vision, and lead.
Good practice for technology trendsetters
provide opportunities for staff and library users to experiment with and learn to use technology and play with the latest devices
champion new technology and social media in the operation of the library and delivery of services
use strategic partnerships to provide access to new technologies and technological expertise, to turn learning into tangible opportunities for creativity
Accept that digital disruption is not only A possibility for your service but is the ONLY possibility
Libraries thrive when their citizens and staff are positively engaged with one another. It's in all of our best interests to lower the barriers and invite people to bring their ideas to the table. We need a different focus a more collaborative and opportunistic customer focus. What problems are we solving already or can we solve.
Then open your mind to the free tools you will depend on, the digital platforms you will exploit and the digital customers you must serve
Then open your mind to the free tools you will depend on, the digital platforms you will exploit and the digital customers you must serve
find ways to engage library users in co-creating content using enabling technology platforms within both the physical and virtual library spaces
use new technologies and social media to reduce isolation and remove barriers experienced by community members with a disability, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds or who are housebound or homeless
The digital age is rewriting our expectations about all sorts of things, and libraries and their leadership is no exception. Being a leader in the digital age – whether your job title includes the word “digital” or not – is exciting and challenging and full of possibilities. In some respects, it’s also a very different experience to what many of us are used to.
None of us has the roadmap but the library is no longer a place only to consume. It is a place to expose to tools and technologies a place for mentorship, for nourishing and encouraging creativity. It is a place that encourages and generates all kinds of creativity and this is even more important in resource poor areas.