This document discusses the challenges and opportunities facing libraries due to economic and technological changes. It notes that everything related to learning, collections, and libraries is changing due to factors like ebooks, mobility, and connectivity. While some question whether libraries are still relevant, the document argues that librarians play a vital role in connecting people with information and knowledge. It explores how libraries, students, and research have changed with technology and suggests libraries must adapt strategies to focus on discovery, ideas, and serving as knowledge portals to remain important community institutions in the future.

1. Economic Change and Challenges These slides are available at Stephen’s Lighthouse blog

6. Welcome Questions for Today: Is this the end of libraries as we know them? Whither learning, community, support? What is actually changing? Do people still value the book? Where is all this change taking us? What is the role for librarians and all types of libraries in our info-future?

8. Let’s Explore the Challenges and Opportunities

26. Answers (answers.com)

27. Answer Bag (answerbag.com)

28. Articles Base (articlesbase.com)

29. Ask (ask.com)

30. Associated Content (associatedcontent.com)

31. BizRate (bizrate.com)

32. Buzle (buzzle.com)

33. Brothersoft (brothersoft.com)

34. Bytes (bytes.com)

35. ChaCha (chacha.com)

36. eFreedom (efreedom.com)

37. eHow (ehow.com)

38. Essortment (essortment.com)

39. Examiner (examiner.com)

40. Expert Village (expertvillage.com)

41. )

42. Experts Exchange (experts-exchange.com)

43. eZine Articles (ezinearticles.com)

44. Find Articles (findarticles.com)

45. FixYa (fixya.com Helium (helium.com)

46. Hub Pages (hubpages.com)

47. InfoBarrel (infobarrel.com)

48. Livestrong (livestrong.com)

49. Mahalo (mahalo.com)

50. Mail Archive (mail-archive.com)

51. Question Hub (questionhub.com)

52. Squidoo (squidoo.com)

53. Suite101 (suite101.com)

54. Twenga (twenga.com)

55. WiseGeek (wisegeek.com)

56. Wonder How To (wonderhowto.com)

57. Yahoo! Answers (answers.yahoo.com)

59. SOPAC / COPAC

60. BiblioCommons

61. ChiliFresh

62. Books & Authors

63. WorldCat & Local

64. Google API (and others)

67. Students are focused at the lesson and event (essay, test, exam) level

68. Libraries at the heart of the community is no longer just physical

69. Libraries as whole school partners

71. School library / Public library partnerships increase scores 5% plus!

72. Libraries and information content and technology leadership are critical to Higher Ed

73. Communities with libraries as an investment receive very high ROI – average 650%!

75. Grocery Stores

76. Grocery Stores

78. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

79. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

80. Meals

81. Chefs, counsellors, teachers, magicians Librarians play a vital role in building the critical connections between information , knowledge and learning.

82. Very Big Secret The Elephant in the Room

83. Change can happen very fast

84. Sensemaking

85. “Strategy is a Choice. . . To be a victim and feel these changes are fated and blamestorm OR Create the future we need and take collective responsibility for the conversation and development of the future.” Find Reasons not Excuses.

87. As technology advances

88. Emboldened Librarians hold the key

89. The nasty facts about Google & Bing and consumer search: SEO Content Farms Advertiser driven Geotagging GOOG

90. Content Farms

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

93. People

97. My son: Zachary

98. News Flash News Flash Tech Shift Happens

99. Culture

102. Overall IQ Increases

103. Increased educational attainment & engagement

104. eBooks outsell hard cover books & paperbacks

105. Reading is UP, way up.

106. Some libraries are crediting most cardholder growth to e-book accessibility

107. Personal device proliferation

109. Brain & Developmental Changes

110. Eye Movement Changes

111. Massive Behavioural Changes

112. Major Decline in Crime Rates – down 65%

114. Gaming too. . . Mothers in their 30’s

115. Social networks fastest growing populations are seniors and will be more international and less urban and English.

116. eBook reader usage is largely middle-aged.

118. 59% are female.

119. 29% are college students.

120. 5% are professors and 6% are teachers.

121. On any given day, 35% of our users are there for the very first time!

122. Only 29% found the databases via the library website.

123. 59% found what they were looking for on their first search.

124. 72% trusted our content more than Google.

126. 71% of instructors that rated student engagement levels as “high” as a result of using technology in courses.

127. 71% of students who are employed full-time and 77% of students who are employed part-time prefer more technology-based tools in the classroom.

128. 79% of instructors and 86 percent of students have seen the average level of engagement improve over the last year as they have increased their use of digital educational tools.

129. 87% of students believe online libraries and databases have had the most significant impact on their overall learning.

130. 62% identify blogs, wikis, and other online authoring tools while 59% identify YouTube and recorded lectures.

131. E-books and e-textbooks impact overall learning among 50% of students surveyed, while 42% of students identify online portals.

132. 44% of instructors believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement.

133. 32% of instructors identify e-textbooks and 30% identify interactive homework solutions as having the potential to improve engagement and learning outcomes. (e-readers was 11%)

134. 49% of students believe that online libraries and databases will have the greatest impact on student engagement.

138. YES (duh!)

139. So how must library and educator strategies change?

140. Discovery & Ideas

141. Has the future changed?Has our future changed?

143. COWS, etc.

148. fMRI and The Brain

149. Cloning

150. Trucking and GPS

151. Wind and other energy

152. Nanotechnology

153. Robotics

154. Massive Book Digitization

155. Music

156. Translation

157. Streaming Media

159. A 1965 iPhone

160. Can libraries keep up with change? Can you recall buying a 45? Can you recall dials on TVs? Can you recall dialling?

161. Formats have died before.

162. Books

163. We have a shallow understanding of the Codex – the book format(s)Transition from scrolls – illumination – codex – and beyond

164. How would you enhance the book without the compromises of the 1500’s?

170. The Chapter and Paragraph Universe

171. Integrated with Visuals – graphics and charts

172. Integrated with ‘video’

173. Integrated with Sound and Speech

174. Integrated with social web

175. Integrated with interaction and not just interactivity

183. Borders Kobo, B&N Nook, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, Sony, etc. . . .

187. Mobility

190. Net neutrality, kill switches . . .

191. Local wired, mobile access ‘everywhere’ to the home and workplace on a personal basis

192. Geo-awareness: GIS, GPS, GEO-IP, etc.

193. Wireless as a business strategy (Starbucks)

198. The new bibliography and collection development KNOWLEDGEPORTALS KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, INFORMATION & RESEARCH COMMONS

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

202. MindMap: What is a book? Reading Reading Learning Pedagogy Research Exploration Reference Engagement Enjoyment Evaluation

203. MindMap: What is a book? Reading Learning Pedagogy Research Exploration Reference Engagement Enjoyment Evaluation

205. Books

206. Fiction

207. Non-Fiction

208. Encyclopedia

209. Reference

210. Directories

211. Dictionaries

212. Textbooks

213. E-Learning

214. What are the good and bad things about e-books?

215. Don’t Rest on Your Laurels.

216. Reintermediation

217. Stand Out!

218. Trust Yourself to Make Difference and Have an Impact

219. You have the tools.

220. Stop Making it so Hard!

221. Save the User!

222. Serve Everyone!

223. What Would You Attempt If You Knew You Would Not Fail?

225. Learning

226. Discovery

227. Progress

228. Research (Applied and Theoretical)

229. Cultural & Knowledge Custody

232. Context is King,Contact trumps Culture Content is a Foundation

233. Community

234. Conversations

235. Relationships

236. The Social Life of Information Community Networks

237. Life

238. Comfort

239. Progress

240. The power of libraries

242. 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: Stephen Abram LinkedIn / Plaxo: Stephen Abram Twitter: sabram SlideShare: StephenAbram1