This document summarizes a presentation by Stephen Abram on how libraries can prepare for the future. The presentation discusses how libraries need to shift their focus to the questions and needs of end users by building knowledge portals focused on popular topics. It also emphasizes the importance of high quality content over physical formats like books, expanding social media programs, advocacy, and measuring impact and value through analytics. The key message is that libraries must change and align themselves with what patrons want in order to remain relevant in a digital world.

1. Future Ready
Stephen Abram, MLS
Indiana Library Federation
Fort Wayne, IN
These slides are available at Stephen’s Lighthouse blog
Nov. 15, 2011

3. Avoid the Climate of Poverty

11. Is there still life in
libraries in a web world?
Yes, but . . .

13. Change: Are libraries
Future Ready?

15. 1
2.0 Fill That Gap
3

20. What Are Libraries Really For?
• Community
• Learning
• Discovery
• Progress
• Research (Applied and Theoretical)
• Cultural & Knowledge Custody / Conservation
• Economic Impact

21. Smelly Or
Yellow Sex
Liquid Appeal?

23. It’s the Whole Experience

24. News Flash
“The Internet and technology have
now progressed to their infancy”

25. 7 Gifts to Libraries, Publishers & Booksellers
1. The book isn’t dead or dying. It is evolving.
2. Our users/customers are improving.
3. Technology is going social and can support social
acts.
4. The PC isn’t dead, but, again, it’s evolving and more
mobile.
5. We know more about our customers than ever
before.
6. Talent, Insight, Community, have social value.
7. Opportunities always exist more in times of change

35. Change can happen very fast

36. What is an EXPERIENCE?
What is a library experience?

37. Books are a
Bad Branding

38. The Book Comet
 Harper Collins fiasco
Amazon “authors”
 Google Bookstore
 Amazon Subscriptions and Lending
 24Symbols
 Bookish
 Pottermore
 Recommendation Engines
 Apple . . . iStore, iBooks

39. Fiction
NonFiction
Reading

40. What does all this mean?
 The Article level universe
 The Chapter and Paragraph Universe
 Integrated with Visuals – graphics and charts
 Integrated with ‘video’
 Integrated with Sound and Speech
 Integrated with social web
 Integrated with interaction and not just interactivity
 How would you enhance a book?
 How do Libraries play the game?

41. Can we frame the e-book issue so
that it can be addressed rationally?

42. Why do people read?

43. Why do people read?
1. To learn
2. To engage in hearing other’s opinions (to agree or disagree or understand)
3. To develop more knowledge about myself and develop as a whole person
4. To be entertained and laugh, to engage and interact
5. To address boredom and the inexorable progress of time
6. To research and keep up-to-date
7. To participate well in civil society (everything from news to voting)
8. To be informed (and maybe smarter)
9. To understand others (individually and culturally)
10. To escape our day-to-day lives
11. To stimulate the imagination and be inspired or spiritual
12. To write and communicate better through reading others
13. To teach
14. To have something to talk about
15. To connect with like-minded people

47. The Evolution
of Answers

48. Sensemaking: Too much choice

49. Why do people ask questions?

50. Gift:
Content Spam

52. List of content farms and general spammy
user generated content sites:
 All Experts (allexperts.com)  Experts Exchange (experts-exchange.com)
 Answers (answers.com)  eZine Articles (ezinearticles.com)
 Answer Bag (answerbag.com)  Find Articles (findarticles.com)
 Articles Base (articlesbase.com)  FixYa (fixya.com Helium (helium.com)
 Ask (ask.com)  Hub Pages (hubpages.com)
 Associated Content (associatedcontent.com)  InfoBarrel (infobarrel.com)
 BizRate (bizrate.com)  Livestrong (livestrong.com)
 Buzle (buzzle.com)  Mahalo (mahalo.com)
 Brothersoft (brothersoft.com)  Mail Archive (mail-archive.com)
 Bytes (bytes.com)  Question Hub (questionhub.com)
 ChaCha (chacha.com)  Squidoo (squidoo.com)
 eFreedom (efreedom.com)  Suite101 (suite101.com)
 eHow (ehow.com)  Twenga (twenga.com)
 Essortment (essortment.com)  WiseGeek (wisegeek.com)
 Examiner (examiner.com)  Wonder How To (wonderhowto.com)
 Expert Village (expertvillage.com)  Yahoo! Answers (answers.yahoo.com)
 )  Xomba (xomba.com)

53. The nasty facts
about Google &
Bing and
consumer search:
SEO / SMO
Content Farms
Advertiser-driven
Geotagging
Whack-a-Mole:
Farmer
Panda
Panda Silver

54. What are your top 10-20 questions?
What is the service portfolio model
that goes with those?

55. The Baker’s Dozen: LVA Top 13
1. Health and Wellness / Community Health / Nutrition / Diet /
Recovery
2. DIY Do It Yourself Activities and Car Repair
3. Genealogy
4. Test prep (SAT, ACT, occupational tests, etc. etc.)
5. Legal Questions (including family law, divorce, adoption, etc)
6. Hobbies, Games and Gardening
7. Local History
8. Consumer reviews (Choosing a car, appliance, etc.)
9. Homework Help (grade school)
10. Technology Skills (software, hardware, web)
11. Government Programs, Services and Taxation
12. Self-help/personal development
13. Careers (jobs, counselling, etc.)
14. Readers Advisory was 14th

56. Top 12 Patron Hobbies
Recreational Reading
Cooking & Recipes
Computers
Movies & Film
Exercise, Cycling & Walking
Traveling, Tourism & Vacations
Top Hobbies?
Music
Top Homework Questions?
Pets Top Travel Destinations?
Gardening
What do you know?
Television Shows
Arts & Crafts
Knitting & Needlecrafts
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

57. Grocery Stores

59. Grocery Stores

60. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

61. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

62. Meals

63. The new
bibliography and
collection
development
KNOWLEDGE
PORTALS
KNOWLEDGE,
LEARNING,
INFORMATION &
RESEARCH
COMMONS

64. Driving the Knowledge Portal
alignment with User Behaviour

65. How would this look?
 Top Reference and Research Questions
 Do you know them? Or do you know retail
sales numbers or circulation numbers better?
 Health . . .
 Career Advice and Job Finding
 Genealogy
 Homework
 Etc.

66. Mobility: Where
the Patron Is

67. Mobility

69. Fun Program Ideas
 Act Like a User Day (signs, sign up, ADD, kids)
 Librarian for a Day – Homework Peer Coaching
 Fraud and ID Theft Prevention
 Facebook for Teens – Study, Sharing and Social Safety
Facebook for Adults – Work, Reputation, Jobs
 Top 20 Questions Portals Focus Groups
 eBay (Cameras, How to, Books, etc.)
 Perennial Trade / Garden Days
 Collections Slap Down
 Research Success for Adult Learners
 Download Faire / Digital Days
 23 Things TNG

72. The Virtual Handout
 The Value of Public Libraries
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/06/the-value-of-
public-libraries/
 The Value of School Libraries
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/06/the-value-of-
school-libraries/
 The Value of Academic and College Libraries
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/07/value-of-
academic-and-college-libraries/
 The Value of Special Libraries
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/07/value-of-
special-libraries/
 Library Advocacy: Save the Library Campaigns
http://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/01/save-the-
library-campaigns/

75. Libraries
Are Social
Institutions

77. Summary
 End User Psychographic Centricity
 Focus on the Questions (Needs, CRM)
 Build or Buy Knowledge Portals (Meals)
 Emphasize Content Quality (not books)
 Expand Social Media Programs on Information
Literacy
 Advocate and Align with the Listener
Tell Stories, Have users tell stories
 Invest in Strategic Analytics – Measurements of
Impact, ROI and Value
 Collaborate vs. socialize

78. News Flash
News Flash
Shift Happens

84. Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLA
VP strategic partnerships and markets
Cengage Learning (Gale)
Cel: 416-669-4855
stephen.abram@cengage.com
Stephen’s Lighthouse Blog
http://stephenslighthouse.com
Facebook or Google+: Stephen Abram
LinkedIn / Plaxo: Stephen Abram
Twitter: sabram
SlideShare: StephenAbram1