The major influence on library futures is the changing character of their user communities. As patterns of research, learning and personal development change in a network environment so library services need to change. At the same time, libraries are focused on engaging with their communities more strongly - getting into their work and learning flows. This means that libraries are becoming more unlike each other, they are diverging as they meet the specific needs of their communities. Research libraries diverge from academic libraries, and each is different from urban public libraries, and so on.
At the same time, at a broader level libraries are experiencing similar pressures. The need to engage more strongly with their communities. The need to assess what they do. The need to configure space around experiences rather than around collections. Libraries are converging around some of these issues.
This presentation will consider the future of libraries from the point of view of convergence and divergence between types of libraries.
The major influence on library futures is the changing character of their user communities. As patterns of research, learning and personal development change in a network environment so library services need to change. At the same time, libraries are focused on engaging with their communities more strongly - getting into their work and learning flows. This means that libraries are becoming more unlike each other, they are diverging as they meet the specific needs of their communities. Research libraries diverge from academic libraries, and each is different from urban public libraries, and so on.
At the same time, at a broader level libraries are experiencing similar pressures. The need to engage more strongly with their communities. The need to assess what they do. The need to configure space around experiences rather than around collections. Libraries are converging around some of these issues.
This presentation will consider the future of libraries from the point of view of convergence and divergence between types of libraries.
Library futures: converging and diverging directions for public and academic libraries
1.
Library futures:
Converging and diverging directions
for public and academic libraries
Lorcan Dempsey
With Helene Blowers, Liz Morris and Constance Malpas. OCLC
Keynote presentation at ALIA National Conference, Adelaide, 30 August 2016
(an adapted version presented at Northern Territory Library, Darwin, 2 Sept 2016)
@LorcanD
2.
@LorcanD
Image and other credits are included in notes.
Some additional comments are also included
in the notes.
6.
20 years ago I was
in the libraries business.
Today I am in the
Columbus business.
Pat Losinski, CEO
Columbus Metro. Library
7.
… to be vital to the academic enterprise,
the Libraries must position itself as an
active, engaged participant in solving
university-level problems (Looking outside
ourselves); …
Look to where teaching and research within
the academic disciplines and cultural
acquisition are moving, and you will see the
Libraries skating to the same puck,
sometimes as partner, sometimes as leader,
always engaged.
Damon Jaggars, The Ohio State University
8.
Library learning happens anytime, everywhere
Bainbridge Public Library
9.
Collections
People
Place
Systems
Print logic.
Just in time.
Network logic.
Reconfigured around the user, the
distinctive, and the creative process.
Managing the
collection
Configured
around
collections
Anonymous.
Neutral.
Partner and advocate.
To be seen as expert, your expertise has
to be visible.
Managing workflows and relationships.
CRM, digital scholarship, social.
Configured around user experiences.
Model of
organizational
excellence
Bureaucracy –
Stable and
known
Enterprise – understanding sources of
value and being nimble and adaptive.
11.
Places –
reconfiguring
around user
experiences.
Collections –
reconfiguring
around the user,
the distinctive,
the creative
process.
Productive
researchers.
Successful
students.
Lives of learning
and creativity.
Strong
communities.
Story –
reconfiguring
around sources
of value to the
community.
Symbol –
manifesting
community value
and identity.
Skills –
making diverse
expertise visible.
Public Academic
Divergent: focused on understanding
the source of their value within their
communities and responding.
Convergent: shared directions,
variably executed.
12.
Collections
– reconfiguring
around the user,
the distinctive,
the creative
process.
13.
Collections – reconfigured
around the user …
The ‘external’ collection:
Pointing researchers at Google Scholar;
Including freely available ebooks in the catalog;
Creating resource guides for web resources.
The ‘owned’
collection
The ‘facilitated’
collection
The ‘borrowed’
collection
A collections spectrum
The ‘shared
print’
collection
The ‘shared
digital’
collection
The evolving
scholarly
record
Purchased and
physically stored
Meet research and
learning needs in best way
The ‘licensed’
collection
The ‘demand-
driven’
collection
14.
People should think not so much of the books that have gone into the
National Library but rather of the books that have come out of it.
Seán O’Faoláin
My professional mission as a librarian is this:
Help people build their own libraries. That’s it. That’s all I care about.
Dan Chudnov
Because the purpose and result of absorbing information is always finally
to produce further information … the function of the library must be
understood as one that assists members of the community both in
taking particular positions and in recognizing and assessing the
positions taken by others. Ross Atkinson
A scholar is just a library’s way of making another library. Daniel Dennett
15.
Collections –
reconfigured
around the creative
process …
16.
From consumption to
creation:
• Support process as well
as product, making as
well as taking
• Workflow is the new
content..
• Support for data
management, publishing
and digital scholarship.
• An inside out perspective
increasingly important.
17.
/
Libraries supporting local authors
Sacramento City Library
19.
Teen Central
Boston Public Library
Library spaces for HOMAGO: Hang out, Mess around, Geek out
20.
Story wall: State Library of SA
[The technology is]
deeply, deeply
democratic. All
sorts of people can
create, publish,
share... the role of
the Library is to be a
custodian of
knowledge, but more
importantly it is to
be enablers, and to
help citizens
embrace digital
literacy.
Alan Smith
21.
Slide via Martha Whitehead
Queen’s University, Canada
Retain our values: supporting local cultures in a global
knowledge commons
Maison de la littérature,
la Bibliothèque de Québec
Collections –
reconfigured
around the distinctive
22.
23
“We create specific cultural and heritage collections that reflect
the unique values and enduring legacies of Oak Park.”
23.
Outside,
in
The distinctive
Library as broker
Maximise efficiency Inside,
out
Library as provider
Maximise discoverability
Bought
Licensed
The generally available
Expertise
Special collections
Research and learning materials
24.
Places –
reconfiguring
around user
experiences.
25.
Temple University Library (plans)
Philadelphia, PA
By reducing the square feet needed to hold
collections, we can then increase the amount of user
seating offered the university, and house specialty
spaces that support graduate student and faculty
research, including new services such as digital
scholarship, digital humanities, and research data
services which will be coming into being in the next
few months and years. Joe Lucia
26.
27
Almere Public Library,
The Netherlands
A place for connection and learning
27.
A place for connection and learning
Columbus Metropolitan Libraries
28.
High value space: Specialist Expertise, Exhibition, Equipment
29.
30
Some 19 universities have either moved into a
new library or refurbished an existing one in
the past two years, according to a report by the
Society of College, National and University
Libraries (Sconul), which represents about 170
higher education institutions in the UK and the
Republic of Ireland….
“The quality of light, furniture and general
ambience is now very different in university
libraries – students want inspirational spaces to
learn,” explains Mara Maricevic, head of higher
education at the British Library, where students
regularly queue in the morning for entry all the
way down Euston Road.
Let there be Light!
30.
University of Helsinki Main Library
Helsinki, Finland
Productive
researchers.
Successful
students.
Academic
Places –
reconfiguring
around user
experiences.
Collections –
reconfiguring
around the user,
the distinctive,
the creative
process.
32.
Collections:
Reconfigured around the
user, the distinctive, the
created
Place:
Reconfigured around
experiences
33.
A convergence of libraries and student support
34.
A cooperative enterprise: research support in the US research university
Graphic by Rebecca Bryant, OCLC Research
35.
Lives of learning
and creativity.
Strong
communities.
Public
MakeX is a mobile makerspace created by the Palo
Alto City Library that was created by teens for teens.
Places –
reconfiguring
around user
experiences.
Collections –
reconfiguring
around the user,
the distinctive,
the creative
process.
36.
Categories that demonstrate the
value and impact of the
public library service
• Learning: Birth thru Teens
• Learning: adults
• Collections
• Customer Experience
• Positioning the Library
• Workforce and Economic
Development
• Race and Social Equity
• Civic and Community Engagement
• Health, Safety, and Sustainability
• Organizational Change and
Strategic Management
37.
Early literacy skills and storytime in libraries.
Infographic: the essential role public libraries play in
addressing equitable access to health information and
resources
38.
… the Libraries must become more
sophisticated in how it identifies and
presents its stories of success and impact to
external stakeholders (Success enables
success).
Damon Jaggars, The Ohio State University
Story –
reconfiguring
around sources
of value to the
community.
39.
Creating value for our host systems always involves
three things:
1. Librarians must understand their host systems;
2. they must understand the source of their claim
to being a legitimate part of their system;
3. and they must do their work well so the system is
better because they are there.
It’s usually far more a matter of asking and listening
than it is of telling and pleading.
Eleanor Joe Rodger
Value?
ROI?
Assessment?
40.
Place Support for research/creationLocal collections Student success
41.
Symbol –
manifesting
community value
and identity.
42.
“You might think that the library is at the
intersection of Frederick and George Streets, but it
is actually at the intersection of scholarship,
innovation, creativity and collaboration. And
that’s the road to our future.”
President Francine McNairy, Millersville University
Convocation Address, 2010
43.
Renton Public Library
Renton, WA
Libraries projecting, preserving community identity
44.
Skills –
making diverse
expertise visible.
Wrangler
Guide
Concierge
Anythink Libraries, Rangeview District libraries, Colorado
45.
New skillsets & new services to serve new populations
46.
If we were filling all our roles now, including those
we aspire to have, we would need only 25-30%
with library qualifications. We need many other
professionals - project managers, data analysts,
business analysts, marketeers, customer service
experts, etc but not so many librarians.
Jan Wilkinson, University Librarian & Director of the
John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester
47.
Places –
reconfiguring
around user
experiences.
Collections –
reconfiguring
around the user,
the distinctive,
the creative
process.
Productive
researchers.
Successful
students.
Lives of learning
and creativity.
Strong
communities.
Story –
reconfiguring
around sources
of value to the
community.
Symbol –
manifesting
community value
and identity.
Skills –
making diverse
expertise visible.
Public Academic
Divergent: focused on understanding
the source of their value within their
communities and responding.
Convergent: shared directions,
variably executed.
48.
The library should not provide an argument for a
particular case, but demonstrate that there is always
another case to be made. The notion that the library is
a place that has no agenda other than allowing
people to invent their own agendas is what makes it
an indispensable resource for a democracy. It is where
we can learn not just to be readers, but to be the
authors of our own destiny. Fintan O’Toole
3
A shared
agenda
49.
The library
agenda ….
To be an
advocate and a
partner in the
learning and
creating lives
of their users
and in the
memories of
their
communities.
50.
“… the Linen Hall Library was the only
institution in Belfast which could
provide an impartial collection of
books on the conflict upon which we
reporters could rely. … No politician,
no government can conceal the sins
and omissions of the past or conceal
the possibilities for the future when
an ordinary member of the public can
walk into the Linen Hall Library and
find the record of what all sides said in
1969 or 1974, 1989 or today.“
Robert Fisk, Journalist
Community memories: Libraries and anamnesis
51.
Photo: Jo Giudice, Dallas Public
Community memories: Libraries and anamnesis
52.
Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC
Created with a lot of help from my friends at OCLC: Helene Blowers, Liz Morris and Constance Malpas.
@LorcanD
Thank you …
dlr LexIcon, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
Picture from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/not-your-mothers-library/381119
Pic from http://www.yourlightingbrand.com/portfolio-posts/ohio-state-library/
Damon Jaggers blog entry - https://library.osu.edu/blogs/osulstaff/2016/02/29/from-the-director-february-29-2016-drinking-from-the-fire-hose
Picture: Bainbridge Public Library http://www.bainbridgepubliclibrary.org/about-us.aspx
Image source: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/building-house-library-windows-395847/) CC0 Public Domain Free for commercial use No attribution required
Image source: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/building-house-library-windows-395847/) CC0 Public Domain Free for commercial use No attribution required
The facilitated collection: http://orweblog.oclc.org/towards-the-facilitated-collection/
The library is generative – a part of the creation life cycle.
See sources at .. http://orweblog.oclc.org/defining-the-library-reflexively/
Image source: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/hands-writing-words-letter-working-1373363/) CC0 Public Domain Free for commercial use No attribution required
The evolving scholarly record: http://www.oclc.org/research/publications/library/2014/oclcresearch-evolving-scholarly-record-2014-overview.html
This is how we framed out the scholarly record in terms of nature and scope of what it might contain.
Start with published outcomes: the reporting of results, conclusions, ideas and so forth from a particular scholarly inquiry. These outcomes are still the coin of the realm for scholarly activities, so they are privileged here at the center of the picture; A lot of these outcomes take the form of text-based materials like books and journal articles, but often supplemented by additional materials such as video, graphics, and interactive programs.
Rest of scholarly record divided into two broad areas: process and aftermath
Process: process of scholarly inquiry; process by which outcomes are produced. Identified three categories of materials generated in this phase in which there is interest in including them as part of the scholarly record: Method materials related to the methodology of scholarly inquiry (e.g., software, computer models, digital lab notebooks, sampling frames, experimental protocols, instrument calibrations) Evidence raw materials/inputs to scholarly work (e.g., data sets, survey results, new or enhanced primary source documents, links to findings from other scholarly works); Discussion refining and improving ideas, methods, conclusions (e.g., pre-prints, listserv/blog discussions, conference presentations, annotated commentary, grant proposals).
Anchoring outcomes directly to the methods employed, evidence used, and formative discussions conducted during the process of scholarly inquiry helps contextualize and deepen our understanding of these outcomes, facilitate replicability, and leverage results into new research.
Once the outcomes from a research project have been formally published or otherwise made available, scholarly activities surrounding that piece of work may still continue in the “aftermath” phase. Activities in the aftermath phase may include Discussion (through similar channels as those in the process phase, but also post-publication formal reviews and commentary); Revision published work can be revised in various ways (the work may be enhanced with additional findings; errors may be corrected or clarifications made, etc.) Re-use (the work may be edited or re-packaged into new forms, such as conference presentations, summaries, blog posts, versions for the “popular media”, etc.).
Not saying that everything discussed here will end up in the scholarly record. But picture represents the maximal scope and depth of materials regarding which there is increasing interest in systematic collection and curation.
Note that some of the materials in the outlying components are becoming or might become outcomes in their own right. Data sets are a good example: in some disciplines the publication of an important data set is now considered a first-class scientific outcome.
Libraries supporting community creation.
Sacramento City Library provides a community-based publishing center for authors throughout the region
http://www.saclibrary.org/Services/I-Street-Press
The library offers workshops for local authors interested in self-publishing books and provides book printing services using an Expresso Book Machine. Among the emerging authors that have benefited from the I Street Press program is Anisa Mahmoud Ulrich, who self-published a memoir of her experiences as an Afghan refugee. Her book, Lifting the Chaderi, has since been acquired by several public and academic libraries in the US and gains additional lift and discoverability through WorldCat.
Other public libraries are partnering with the e-book publishing platform Smashwords to provide local authors with a low-cost publishing option. Books that document local communities and cultures are acquired for the library’s collection.
Allen County Public Library ( Fort Wayne, Ind) selects a day every year where they encourage the community to take photos and contribute them to the library’s digital archives. They’ve been doing this event annually since 2008. All photos are achieved digitally through the ACPL’s CONTENTdm application.
HOMAGO (Hang Out, Mess Around, Geek Out) philosophy that many public libraries have adopted to extend homework support to personal interest exploration, digital learning and idea creation. Pioneered by Chicago PL’s YouMedia Teen center and supported by learning development research, IMLS helped jump start many PL projects to help redesign teen library spaces & programming to support informal learning.
Photo from Frances Tout ( Traveling Librarian blog) https://travellinglibrarian2015.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/boston-public-library-homago-programming-and-so-much-more/ HOMAGO research: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hanging-out-messing-around-and-geeking-out
Story wall. A lovely idea. Projecting images from libray collections onto the library wall. State Library of South Australia.
A character from a Gabrielle Roy novel (Rue Deschambault) speaks on video among the stacks.
I adapted this slide from one of Martha Whitehead’s.
For more on this distinction see: Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting, portal: Libraries and the Academy, 14, 3 (July 2014), 393–423. (with Constance Malpas and Brian Lavoie)
Image source: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/building-house-library-windows-395847/) CC0 Public Domain Free for commercial use No attribution required
Pic from .. http://www.designboom.com/architecture/snohetta-the-temple-university-library-philadelphia-01-26-2016/
Temple University will spend a projected 170M on the library renovation, planned for completion in 2018. The have selected the same architecture firm (Snøhetta) that built the new NCSU James B. Hunt library and the Ryerson University Student Learning Center in Toronto. Snøhetta has also been selected for a library remodel at the University of Calgary.
As part of its renovation plans, Temple University had to present the library design to the city architectural review board, which was very pleased with the design. The design includes elements intended for the enjoyment of all citizens of Philadelphia, not only students of the university.
Joe Lucia quote from Faculy Senate Library Committee meeting - http://library.temple.edu/about/faculty-senate-library/minutes/december-11-2013
Columbus Metropolitan Libraries branch. Fewer books. More space for meeting and learning. Including space for Columbus State Community College. My pictures.
Space is increasingly being used for high value activities. Access to specialist expertise, staging of exhibitions, or access to specialist or expensive equipment.
Surrey Hill pic: http://www.archdaily.com/57339/surry-hills-library-and-community-centre-fjmt
Times higher article: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/how-campus-libraries-became-the-place-to-read-pray-learn
Kaisa House, the main library of the University of Helsinki was renovated in 2012 and was a factor in the city having been awarded the status of World City of Design in 2012. The library attracts a large number of visitors (reportedly 9K daily) from the university and general population. It has a reputation among tourists as well, and is one of only a handful of university libraries listed as a destination in the TripAdvisor crowd-sourced travel guide.
Library of the future plan, University of Adelaide. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/infrastructure/projects/current/lotf/
Library of the future plan, University of Adelaide. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/infrastructure/projects/current/lotf/
Interesting convergence of libraries and student support
Picture by my colleague Rebecca Bryant.
MakeX is a mobile makerspace created by the Palo Alto City Library, CA that was created by teens for teens. The mobile space travels throughout the community to local branches, community centers and other community locations where teens gather. The service is completely run by local teens encouraging more than just community creativity… it also provides teens with leadership opportunities.
“MakeX offers free access to cutting edge tools in a casual, peer-driven environment. Students have the opportunity to learn how to use tools and software under the guidance of teen mentors, or work individually on their own projects.”
More Info: http://www.makexpaloalto.org/ http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/makex.asp
Value is defined in terms of impact on lives and communities.
Value is defined in terms of impact on lives and communities.
40
There is a large value discussion in libraries. It is important that value is considered in terms of where the library is going, not where it has been.
Rodger, E. J. (January 01, 2007). WHAT'S A LIBRARY WORTH? Piecing together the structure of value. American Libraries, 38, 8, 58-61.
Iconic library built in 1966, spanning the Cedar River and local salmon habitat, renovated in 2015 to better reflect the heritage of the region, with strong ties to the aviation and manufacturing industries. According the library’s Master Plan, materials about the Pacific Northwest are a special strength of the Renton branch.
Photo Credit: McCroy James (http://www.mccory.com/blog/editorial/editorial-cover-story-on-anythink-libraries-for-library-journal)
Photo from Anythink Libraries, Rangeview District libraries, Colorado
Librarians have been shedding the legacy stereotype for years. Along with a new generation of library users (& librarians) the demand for new skills are also becoming common place.
At Anythink Libraries in Rangeview District, CO (https://www.anythinklibraries.org/) staff have descriptive job titles that speak to the creative and blended skill sets required to work in a dynamic public library today. Job titles such as guide, concierge and wrangler (sounds like a rodeo ) Anythink Library job titles & descriptions: Wrangler: part product placement, part inventory control, part display technician (https://www.anythinklibraries.org/sites/default/files/imce_uploads/wrangler2009.pdf)
Guide: part customer education, part reference advocate, part event planning (http://www.anythinklibraries.org/sites/default/files/imce_uploads/Adultguide2011.pdf) Concierge: part customer service, part technology troubleshooting, part product promotion (https://www.anythinklibraries.org/sites/default/files/imce_uploads/concierge2009.pdf)
Columbus Metro libraries homework help centers. Staff are hired with early education backgrounds, language skills and digital literacy proficiencies. New immigrant populations ( Somalis and Ethiopians) heavily use this service in many libraries.
Quote in personal communication from Jan Wilkinson.
Image source: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/building-house-library-windows-395847/) CC0 Public Domain Free for commercial use No attribution required
This is a William Morris window in Rathmines Public Library. Pic: : http://www.flickr.com/photos/dublincitypubliclibraries/6029467474/in/set-72157594513778442
Fintan O’Toole quote not online. Discussed in: http://orweblog.oclc.org/public-libraries-in-dublin/
http://effraroad.ie/
Picture .. http://www.judemalonecreative.com/blog/archives/11-2013 Fisk quote from the Linen Hall Library description of Northern Ireland Political Collection. https://www.linenhall.com/pages/ni-political-collection
Note: this slide has one animation inserting the Instagram image from DPL
In the wake of community tragedies, PLs have taken on the roles as safe spaces and community healer/rebuilders. Obviously, this is not part of any library’s specific strategy to serve their communities in new and different ways, but when tragedies such as the Dallas Police shootings, the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando, the Ferguson riots, Sandy Hook school shootings in Newton, CT strike communities, Public Libraries are often the first to respond providing safe spaces for dialogue, discourse, grief and community expression. And in some cases they also become the archivists of such expression.
Image: Dallas Public Library PostIt Note memorial. The Library, in partnership with the Dallas Police Dept, is currently working to preserve and curate all the memorabilia and community sentiments that were left at the fallen police officer memorial. Insert shows just a small sampling of items that they collected and will be preserving as part of the collection.
Photo: Jo Giudice, Dallas Public Library https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cm2epeeUkAAplOt.jpg:thumb
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