Co-presented June 23, 2012, with Bohyun Kim (Florida International University) and Jason Clark (Montana State University) at ALA Annual 2012. Primary upload at http://www.slideshare.net/bohyunkim/i-can-do-it-all-by-mysef-exploring-new-roles-for-libraries-and-mediating-technologies-in-addressing-the-diy-mindset-of-library-patrons Abstract: Users are increasingly self-reliant in their information seeking behavior. Where is the place for the personal interaction with librarians in this new paradigm? Join an active conversation to explore (a) What the DIY user behaviors are, (b) how libraries can respond to them in terms of new services, fiscal and personnel resources, and technologies, and (c) how to leverage technology to create online or face-to-face mediation opportunities that would be welcomed by users.

1. I CAN DO IT ALL BY MYSELF
: Exploring new roles for libraries and
mediating technologies in addressing the
DIY mindset of library patrons
American Library Association Annual Conference.
Anaheim, CA. 2012.
Speakers: Bohyun Kim, Patrick T. Colegrove, Jason Clark.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marielamuse/7341089880/

2. I CAN DO IT
ALL BY MYSELF – part I.
: Exploring new roles for libraries and mediating technologies in
addressing the DIY mindset of library patrons
Bohyun Kim, Digital Access Librarian
Florida International University Medical Library
http://bohyunkim.net @bohyunkim (Twitter)
http://www.slideshare.net/bohyunkim (Slides)
American Library Association Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA. June 23, 2012.
#ala12 #diy

3. Great Library of Alexandria
- Wikipedia
Libraries,
what has happened to them ?

4. Open stacks / browsing
/circulation

5. Library catalog

6. DIY searching for end-users
was once radical…

7. DeLaMare Science and
Engineering Library of Univ.
of Nevada, Reno
- Facebook
Library space
changed for collaboration

8. “Using the Self-Checkout machines” –
Multinoma County Library (Flickr)
Self-service for convenience

9. Open library metadata

10. Patrons,
what has happened to them?

11. • Information consumers who are
• Smarter
• More empowered
• More independent
• More efficient
• More trained
• More dedicated
• More impatient
• More demanding
We are now…

12. What does that mean to
academic libraries?

13. • “According to the ARL statistics, the number
of reference transactions went down by more
than 50-60 % since 1995.”
- Anderson, Rick. 2011. “The Crisis in Research
Librarianship.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 37
(4): 289-290.
Decreasing
reference requests

14. Decreasing circulation

15. • “Unless current patterns change, by 2020
university libraries will no longer have
circulation desks.”
- Kurt, Will. 2012. “The End of Academic Library
Circulation?” ACRL TechConnect.
http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=233
User behavior has changed

16. • Ask-an-expert sites (e.g., WikiAnswers) showed the
largest five- year growth—136% increase. The
frequency of use increased as well. The majority of
college students who used these sites did so on an as-
needed basis in 2005; now 30% search for answers at
least monthly.
• College students are asking experts for help; are they
asking librarians? Our survey results indicate that only
a few are using online librarian question services—
10% in 2010 vs. 8% in 2005. The number of academic
libraries offering online reference services increased
more than 10% from 2004 to 2008 (NCES).
- OCLC Report - Perceptions of Libraries 2010, pp.52-54.
Users prefer self-service
even in reference /research

17. • In the era of information scarcity
• Information was hard to find, obtain, access.
• This problem is solved by librarians‟
mediation.
• Libraries identify, acquire, organize, and
provide access to information.
• Mediation by librarians was necessary for
identifying and accessing hard-to-find
information efficiently.
• Great value was created by the mediation
between library patrons and library staff.
Old paradigm

18. Traditional library services
are designed
to solve
information scarcity
by mediation.

19. But now,
information is abundant.
And we are so much more
capable information
consumers with the Web.

20. • “You‟re pretty good at helping
me, thanks, but I‟d really prefer to do
more things by myself- and by the
way, you don‟t make that very easy for
me.”
- Matthews, Brian. 2011. “Helping patrons help themselves,”
Chronicle of Higher Education Blog Network.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2011/10/13
/are-we-in-the-diy-era-helping-patrons-help-themselves/
DIY – Users’ mindset today

21. • Not unique to library use
• Common phenomenon influenced by the automation of
everyday service that we experience as a consumer.
• WWW + Knowledge = DIY
• Who knows more about how to best print your
digital photo?
You or the person at Walgreens photo service?
• Can you file tax yourself rather than hiring an
accountant?
Yes, and it might be faster and more convenient!
• The line between experts and hobbyists is becoming
more and more blurry.
• Example: Etsy, Flickr, Instagram, etc.
DIY mindset - background

22. DIY Internet Radio Station

23. • Avoiding contact with the library staff unless
necessary
• Using an alternative to traditional library services
• Giving up on time-consuming procedures
• Prefers self-service
• Practicing „Satisfice‟
• Wanting to learn by doing, not by sitting and
listening
• Appreciation for tools that help them do the
things that they want to do by themselves
(e.g. LibX)
DIY user behavior at libraries

24. • Self-checkout machines
• Drive-through windows
• Vending machines with books and DVDs
• Self-registration for library cards
• Self-scheduling group study room and computer
use
• Self-pickup of holds
• Self-directed printing
• Self-service course reserves management by
faculty
• Convenience and empowerment for patrons
• Staff efficiency for libraries
Moving in the right direction…

25. But our main message
is unchanged.
“Come to the Library !”
“Talk to Librarians !”

26. • „Ask a Librarian‟
• Reference desk
• Classroom instruction
• Literature search
• Library workshop
“ Let us help you.”
(=Go through us/ gatekeeping)

27. • Attractions to draw more people to the
library?
• E-book readers, Starbucks, 3D printer…
• Improve the library‟s physical space?
• Create more contact opportunities online?
• Ask a Librarian, Text a Librarian!
• Embedded into the curriculum
• Librarian presence in the LMS
• More classroom instruction
Still operating
in the old paradigm

28. • Help is less and less sought out where
information is abundant.
• “Can I just figure thist out by myself?”
• ”Do I have time for this?”
• “Is this something I must go through?”
• “Can I do it later?”
• “It sounds boring… ”
Lukewarm responses …

29. • Interaction-oriented service is likely to to be received
poorly because patrons are less likely to initiate it.
• Librarians‟ mediation or assistance is often not
necessary for library patrons identifying and accessing
information.
• And if any information system requires human
mediation or instruction, that may well make a patron
think that the system is inefficient.
• Users expect efficient systems that allow them to
serve themselves to meet their information needs.
Kim (2011b).
In spite of our best intentions

30. Why?
Because now,
what is precious and scarce
is
information
people’s time and attention.

31. • “I don‟t think education is about centralized
instruction anymore; rather, it is the process
establishing oneself as a node in a broad
network of distributed creativity.”
- Ito, Joichi. 2011. “In an Open-Source Society, Innovating by the
Seat of our Pants.” The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/science/joichi-ito-
innovating-by-the-seat-of-our-pants.html?_r=1
Learning is changing…

32. Now: Mediate when & where?

33. Library as a warehouse
Passive help center (Kim, 2011a)

34. Be where people are.
Be sought after; don’t run after.
Photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/613445810/

35. Circulate books & journals.
Look up things that are had to find.
Help then when asked
Teach them proper research resources & methods.
Old paradigm: no longer relevant

36. Let’s show beautiful and
awesome things instead.
Photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10422334@N08/4548288966/

37. DeLaMare Science and
Engineering Library of Univ.
of Nevada, Reno
- Facebook
Real people are inside &
outside the library space

38. Digestible bits of knowledge

39. Enrich everyone’s
information ecosystem

40. Package info & data
as a meaningful connection

41. Transform information into
meaning & knowledge

42. • Part II (Tod): How can libraries respond to
the changing user behavior and expectations
to draw in and energize the users of the
physical library space ?
• Part III (Jason): How to leverage technology
to create opportunities for mediation and dis-
mediation opportunities that the library users
online would welcome ?
Examples: physical /virtual

43. Part II & Part III

44. • Anderson, Rick. 2011. “The Crisis in Research Librarianship.” Journal
of Academic Librarianship 37 (4): 289-290.
• Dempsey, Beth. 2010. "Do-It-Yourself Libraries." Library Journal
135, no. 12: 24-28.
• Harvard Library Open Data, http://openmetadata.lib.harvard.edu/
• Hoppenfeld, Jared, and Wendi Arant-Kasper. 2010. "Do-It-Yourself
for Course Reserves: A Student-Driven Service in an Academic
Library." Journal Of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery &
Electronic Reserves 20, no. 5: 353-361.
• Ito, Joichi. 2011. “In an Open-Source Society, Innovating by the
Seat of our Pants.” The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/science/joichi-ito-innovating-
by-the-seat-of-our-pants.html
• Kim, Bohyun. 2011a. “Beyond the Middlemen and the Warehouse
Business.” Library Hat.
http://www.bohyunkim.net/blog/archives/1361
References

45. • Kim, Bohyun. 2011b. “Research Librarianship in Crisis: Mediate
When, Where, and How?” ACRLog.
http://acrlog.org/2011/08/01/research-librarianship-in-crisis-
mediate-when-where-and-how
• Kurt, Will. 2012. “The End of Academic Library Circulation?” ACRL
TechConnect. http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=233
• Matthews, Brian. 2011. “Helping patrons help themselves,”
Chronicle of Higher Education Blog Network.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2011/10/13
/are-we-in-the-diy-era-helping-patrons-help-themselves/
• NYPL Lab, What‟s on the Menu? http://menus.nypl.org/
• NYPL Lab, Direct Me NYC 1940. http://directme.nypl.org/
• OCLC, 2010. OCLC Report - Perceptions of Libraries.
http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm
• Gorae_bot in Twitter. http://twitter.com/gorae_bot
References (cont…)

46. I CAN DO IT
ALL BY MYSELF – part II.
Exploring new roles for libraries and mediating technologies in
addressing the DIY mindset of library patrons

47. This was the reality of
DeLaMare Library.

48. 

We simply couldn’t afford
the traditional approach.
1Derived from reports generated June 2, 2012, using the CANID Interactive Reporting System on the University of Nevada, Reno, Institutional Analysis website at

49. Radical measures?

50. • “ ”
•
•
After two years:

51. Key: relocated staff offices 4.

52. Positioning staff to “be
a node in their network” 5.

53. Views from
my desk on the 3 rd floor…

54. security device:
Left behind: a microkitchen.

55. A coffee shop?

56. Fundamental:
“ ”

57. ’
Create and leverage
contact opportunities.

58. Recent additions:
Sparkfun Inventer kits

59. Recent additions:
3D printers & scanner

60. Recent additions:
button makers

61. •
  
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Additional development:

62. A few of the guidelines6:

63. Draw in and energize
users of the physical library.
Image credit: rumpleteaser, “Kid in a Candy Store”, , licensed under creative commons Attribution2.0 Generic (CC BY).
Retrieved June1, 2012, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rumpleteaser/6062575030/sizes/l/in/photostream/

64. Added over 2,500 square
feet of whiteboard walls.

65. Created semi-
private collaboration areas.

66. A whiteboard wall
competition on FaceBook?

67. “
”
Going deeper:
communities of practice.

68. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nurture them!

69. Give them something
to talk to you about.

70. Could turn into a
traditional library event…

71. or an outing on
the University Quad...

72. with several hundred students
and faculty participating.

73. Rules of engagement:

74. Expressions of
Homelessness exhibit.

75. WordPress WordCamp.
Image credit: thekevinjones, (June 5, 2011). Wordamp, Reno 2011. All rights reserved. Retrieved June 5, 2012, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/58403583@N04/sets/72157626772664855/

76. Pi day.

77. Rube-Goldberg
machine competition.

78. Locksport workshop.

79. “
”
“
’
”
The key:

80. Okay, that’s great – for
the people who come in to
the library.
What about everyone else?

81. I CAN DO IT
ALL BY MYSELF – part III.
Exploring new roles for libraries and mediating technologies in
addressing the DIY mindset of library patrons
Jason Clark
Head of Digital Access & Web Services
Montana State University Library
American Library Association Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA. 2012

82. • What about users that don’t come into the
building?
• Libraries are passive
• Users are active
• Building engaging tools and online
experiences
New Paradigm

83. Traditional library services
are designed to
solve
information scarcity
by mediation.

84. • In economics, disintermediation is the
removal of intermediaries in a supply chain:
"cutting out the middleman".
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disintermediation
Disintermediation

85. DIY – “Do It Yourself”

86. • “…recorded their own music, produced
albums and merchandise, distributed their
works and often performed basement shows
in residential homes rather than at traditional
venues to secure freedom in performance.”
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY_ethic
DIY – “Do It Yourself”

87. • DIY as part of Internet Culture
• Make Magazine (makezine.com)
• Skillshare (skillshare.com)
• We work in a medium that facilitates DIY
DIY and the Internet

88. DIY Libraries

89. What about apps and tools
that create mediation
opportunities?

90. • WikiAnswers
• Direct Me NYC: 1940
• http://www.nypl.org/collections/labs
• What's on the Menu?
• http://www.nypl.org/collections/labs
• Patron Driven Acquisition
• http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/05/31/what-patron-
driven-acquisition-pda-does-and-doesnt-mean-an-faq/
Crowdsourcing

91. Crowdsourcing

92. • The Student Research Pad
• http://www.stephenfrancoeur.com/digitalreference/tag/research-pad/
• Surfacing scholarly community activity
• http://www.lib.montana.edu/resources/popular.php
• http://realtime.easybib.com/
• Mendeley, Academia.edu, Zotero, scholr.ly
Research & Citation Management

93. • Umich library lab Bookmarklets
• http://www.lib.umich.edu/mlibrary-labs
• LibX toolbar
• http://libx.org/
• NCSU mediated search
• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/search/?q=laser
• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/search/about.html
Extending Search

94. Extending Search

95. Converting traditional
services?
What are the new "app"
opportunities?

96. • twitterbots, chatbots
• http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/85
(new) Ready Reference

97. • twitterbots, chatbots
• http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/85
(new) Ready Reference

98. • Gimme (Scottsdale Public Library)
• http://gimme.scottsdalelibrary.org/
• BookMeUp
• http://www.lib.montana.edu/beta/bookme/
(new) Ready Reference

99. • Data mining social media
• http://andyburkhardt.com/2011/04/26/how-
libraries-can-leverage-twitter/
• http://andyburkhardt.com/2010/02/12/ambient-
awareness-in-twitter-for-reference/
(new) Outreach

100. • RSIS range science collection
• http://rangescience.info
• Experts creating a digital "bookshelf"
(new) Digital Libraries

101. • Patron Driven Acquisition
• http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/05/3
1/what-patron-driven-acquisition-pda-does-
and-doesnt-mean-an-faq/
(new) Collection Development

102. • Sorting databases based on popularity
(clickthrough analytics)
• http://www.lib.montana.edu/resources/popul
ar.php
(new) Content Selection

103. • Real-time Instruction
• http://bit.ly/zA9DCf
• "Guide on the Side", a tutorial created for
JSTOR by University of Arizona librarians
(new) Instruction

104. • New staffing models
• Realignment of personnel
• ...
Takeaways & Next Steps

105. • Bookmarklets
• http://www.lib.montana.edu/~jason/files/boo
kmarklets/
• AskREF
• http://www.lib.montana.edu/~jason/files/que
stion-point/
Code Samples

106. Twitter Hashtag
#diy
Questions?