The Networked Librarian: Libraries as social networks

Libraries as social networks Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project 5.6.11 San Francisco library system Email: [email_address] Twitter: @Lrainie

The rise of networked individuals Barry Wellman – University of Toronto (my co-author)

New social operating system (1): Networked Individualism
Groups and bureaucracies give way to networks
Social networks are more influential
Social networks are differently composed
Social networks are more vivid and tied to creation of information/media

New social operating system (2): New kinds of communities
Explosion of group activity and group niches
Rise of social posses
Advent of just-in-time, just-like-me peer-to-peer (support) groups
Fifth Estate of content contributors

Revolution #1 Internet and Broadband

70% 66%

Demographic factors correlated w/ broadband adoption 10/5/2010 Trends in Home Broadband Adoption Positive correlation (in order of importance) Negative correlation (in order of importance) Household income of $75,000 or more per year Having high school degree or less College degree Senior citizen (age 65+) Parent with minor child at home Prefers speaking Spanish in our interviews Married or living with partner Disabled Employed full time African-American

Consequences for info ecosystem
Volume
Velocity Vibrance Valence / Relevance

Consequences for info ecosystem Explosion of creators and niches

Networked creators among internet users
62% are social networking site users
55% share photos
33% create content tags
32% contribute rankings and ratings
30% share personal creations
26% post comments on sites and blogs
15% have personal website
15% are content remixers
14% are bloggers
12% use Twitter
4%-17%??? use location-sharing services

Big challenge for libraries Atoms bits
Collections
are
disrupted

Big social networking add by libraries 1 – Cover access divides
44% of those living below the poverty line used library connections
61% of those ages 14-24 used them for school
54% of poor senior citizens used library connections for health/wellness needs
63% used library connections to help others
Source: Opportunity for All, Univ. of Washingon, Gates Foundation, IMLS http://cis.washington.edu/usimpact/documents/OPP4ALL_FinalReport.pdf

Big social networking add by libraries 2 – Cover participatory divides
2/3 of library connection users sought assistance from library staff
60% of library connectors use them for social purposes
42% for education purposes
40% for jobs/career purposes
37% health and wellness purposes
33% for community engagement
Source: Opportunity for All, Univ. of Washingon, Gates Foundation, IMLS http://cis.washington.edu/usimpact/documents/OPP4ALL_FinalReport.pdf

But there is more libraries can do: Relevance & digital literacy are primary factors for not going online Source: Pew Internet Project, May 2010 tracking survey 10/5/2010 Trends in Home Broadband Adoption

Revolution #2 Wireless Connectivity

Cell phone owners – 85% adults 96 % 90% 85% 58% Urban-84% Suburban-86% Rural-77%

2/22/2011

Mobile internet connectors – 57% adults 62% 59% 55% Urban-60% Suburban-60% Rural-43%

Demographic factors related to mobile connectivity 10/5/2010 Trends in Home Broadband Adoption Positive correlation Negative correlation College grad Less than high school education $75,000+ household income <$30,000 household income Parent of minor child Rural Republican ??? Spanish dominant in language preference

Cell owners are doing more with their phones than ever before 2/22/2011

Cell phones as social tools
% of cell owners
54% send photo or video
23% access a social networking site
20% watch a video
15% post a photo/video online
11% have purchased a product
11% charitable donation by text
10% status update service such as Twitter
2/22/2011

85% use cell phones 35% have apps 24% use apps All adults May 2010 and Nov 2010 surveys 1 in 4 adults use apps

55% of adults own laptops – up from 30% in 2006 45% of adults own MP3 players – up from 11% in 2005 50% of adults own DVRs – up from 3% in 2002 42% of adults own game consoles 7% of adults own e-book readers - Kindle 7% of adults own tablet computer – iPad doubled in 6 months

Consequences for info ecosystem Anywhere Any device Presence Place Any time Alone together

Big challenge for libraries People came to us We go to people
The library as
place becomes
the library
as placeless
resource

Big social networking add by libraries Help navigate and “make peace” with info
Apps vs. web vs. traditional resource locators
Access to real-time information
Context of information – augmented reality
Sanctuary – quiet space

Revolution #3 Social Networking

The social networking population is more diverse than you might think 2/22/2011 5x 5x 7x 5x

Demographic factors correlated w/ SNS use 10/5/2010 Trends in Home Broadband Adoption Positive correlation Negative correlation Under age 30 Senior citizen (age 65+) Female (overall) Male (frequency) Rural Parent with minor child at home Non-cell user Some college Disability Urban

Online video 2/22/2011
What You Need to Know:
69% of internet users (half of all US adults) watch videos online – and not just funny cat videos
14% of internet users have uploaded their own video content (up from 8% in 2007); sharing as likely to occur on social networking sites as specialized video sites

Video creation 2/22/2011
What You Need to Know:
14% of adult internet users have posted video online
Up from 8% in 2007
Biggest growth among older adults, women

Online social networks + ubiquitous mobility
Allows for immediate, spontaneous creation of networks
Gives people a sense that there are more “friends” in their networks that they can access when they have needs
2/22/2011 Social Dashboard Pervasive Awareness

Big shift for libraries Expertise and influence shifts to networks
Share the
stage with
amateur
experts

Big social networking add by libraries 1 - Can be embedded in …
Attention zones
Continuous partial attention
Deep dives
Info-snacking
Day dreaming???
Media zones
Social streams
Immersive
Creative / participatory
Study / work

Big social networking by libraries 2 – Can be nodes in social networks
As sentries – word of mouth matters more
As information evaluators – they vouch for/discredit a business’s credibility and authenticity
As forums for action – everybody’s a broadcaster/publisher

Cosmic social networking add by libraries 1 – Can be teachers of new literacies
- screen literacy - graphics and symbols
- navigation literacy
- connections and context literacy
- skepticism
- value of contemplative time
- how to create content
- ethical behavior in new world

Cosmic social networking add by libraries 2 – Can help fill in civic gaps
- the big sort among institutions: public, private, non-profit reimagining roles
- the big sort on news and information landscape
- the big empowerment and move to networked individuals

Meta issue 1: The future of knowledge
How is it created?
How is it disseminated?

Meta issue 2: The future of reference expertise
How to you search for info?
How to you assess it and aggregate it?

Meta issue 3: The future of public technology
What is the future of knowledge “containers” and access points?
What divides does that create?
What “lending” and “access” models are possible?

Meta issue 4: The future of learning spaces
What fosters collaboration?
What is the role of solitary focus? (and quiet space?)

Meta issue 5: The future of community anchor institutions
Does local matter?
What does our community need?

Practical question - 1
What’s the franchise vs. commodity?
What’s the aggregation play? Do what you do best and link to the rest

Practical question – 2
What’s the social networking play ? What alliances can we strike to do distributed versions of our mission? What’s the word-of-mouth, viral play?

What’s the mobile play? How do we understand and exploit real-time information with our patrons?

What’s the gift economy play?
Another way to say it: What’s the API play? What can we pry loose that OTHERS can exploit?
What feedback do we want from our stakeholders?

What’s the definition of success that is based on outcomes NOT outputs?
How do we measure it?

Key questions for any organization - 6
What’s the gamer play – immersive, compelling, skills building

Be not afraid

http://www.scoop.it	987
http://pewinternet.org	454
http://www.pewinternet.org	441
http://libraryschool.campusguides.com	145
http://blogs.cbs.dk	139
http://infoactivismjpn.blogspot.com	58
http://paper.li	51
http://libraries.pewinternet.org	49
http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com	45
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	7
http://espaceb.bibliomontreal.com	6
http://nclc23things.blogspot.com	5
http://twitter.com	3
url_unknown	1
http://www.libraryschool.campusguides.com	1
http://beta.prcdev.org	1
http://inthecloud.gjmueller.com	1
http://pewinternet.org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu	1
http://www.techgig.com	1
http://feed.mikle.com	1
http://feeds.feedburner.com	1
http://gjmueller.tumblr.com	1
http://207.46.192.232	1
http://infoactivismjpn.blogspot.jp	1

The Networked Librarian: Libraries as social networks

by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project on May 06, 2011

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The Networked Librarian: Libraries as social networks — Presentation Transcript