Presentation for the East Greenwich Free Library Board of Trustees, June 3, 2009.

1. Looking Forward:
The Library of the Future
Or, how not to be left behind
Howard Boksenbaum, Chief Library Officer
Karen Mellor, Library Program Manager
RI Office of Library & Information Services

2. About libraries

3. Who uses the library today?
Libraries are not losing relevance.
• Visits are up.
• Program attendance is up.
• Computer usage is up.
But some traditional services are down.
• Reference.
• Circulation?

4. Who supports the library?
Library funding support is only marginally related to
library visitation
Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of
library funding support
Voters who see the library as a 'transformational'
force as opposed to an 'informational' source are
more likely to increase taxes in its support
From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America
(OCLC 2008)

5. New information ecosystem
Industrial Age - info was: Information Age - info is:
Scarce Abundant
Expensive Cheap
Institutionally oriented Personally oriented
Designed for Designed for
consumption participation

6. Information explosion
Volume.
Variety.
Velocity.
Venues & ’vailability.
Vigilance.
Vibrance.
Valence.
Voice & visibility.

7. Information trends
Sharing.
Collaboration.
Customization.
Cloud computing.
Transparency.

9. Social networking
65% of youth (12-17) use SNS.
35% of adults use SNS.
Fastest growing demographic: women over 55.
FB: 45.3 million active users.
FB: 25% over 35.
Is your library on Facebook?

10. Mobility
39% of Americans use mobile devices.
8% can’t live without them.
Mobile internet access is drawing people
into more frequent online use.
What do you do with your handheld?
How does your website look?

11. Connecting
Information seeking behavior is changing.
Sharing and collaborating.
Books: Library Thing.
Books & products: Amazon, Like.
People & photos: Riya.
Sound: Midomi.
Customize music: Pandora.

12. Library 2.0
The library is everywhere.
The library has no barriers.
The library invites participation.
The library uses flexible systems.
The library encourages the heart.
The library is human, and recognizes its users are, too.
Michael Stephens, Tame the Web (more on Library 2.0)

13. The library of the future
Darien Library (CT). http://www.darienlibrary.org/
Imagination and transformation.
User experience.
Library design.
Portable librarians.
SOPAC (more on SOPAC)
Tour the Darien Library

14. How not to be left behind
Be findable. Be available.
Become a node for information and interaction.
Help people master new literacies.
Develop social capital.
Talk to users, find out what they want.
Be where your users are using their tools.
Broadcast yourself and earn your audience.

15. And so . . .
• Everything has changed.
• Nothing has changed.
• The container does not matter,
libraries are about connecting
people and information.

16. Questions? Comments?

17. Howard Boksenbaum
HowardBm@olis.ri.gov
Karen Mellor
KarenM@olis.ri.gov
www.olis.ri.gov

18. View the presentation online:
http://www.slideshare.net/kmellor