fight the future

A World of Libraries Without Librarians

Manager York County

Headquarters Library

Reference / Outreach /

Circulation / Collection

Development

Still a Systems Librarian

rogan.hamby@yclibrary.net

"A further sign of health is that we don't

become undone by fear and trembling, but

we take it as a message that it's time to

stop struggling and look directly at what's

threatening us."

… Collections

… Curation

… Expertise

Libraries automated,

adding computers to the

infrastructure but

circulating things stayed

the same. New media

came in (vinyl, tapes, CDs,

etc…) the library handled it

all the same. And the

library chose how to do it.

In the Information Age user needs are greater than ever

from finding basic sources, to understanding copyright,

to getting a book to read to understanding if a website is

authoritative

There are more sources of every kind than ever

There is more access than ever

Access to devices and data sources are proliferating

All this stuff is going digital. Digitally

distributed, portably consumed, but so

what? We’ve got download services.

It’s disruptive. It challenges circulation’s functions and

much of the workflow of putting materials in patron’s hands.

A real but clearly solvable problem.

It’s disruptive. It challenges circulation’s functions and

much of the workflow of putting materials in patron’s hands.

A real but clearly solvable problem.

A library in every pocket challenges our

ability to supply our three core skill sets.

Collections

Curation

Expertise

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Storage (weight, sizes, total

space)

Preservation

The logistics of purchasing

Securing funds

Processing

Cataloging

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

Books (many sizes)

Magazines

Newspapers

Prints

Maps

Globes

Etc…

New materials are being invented both digitally (FLAC)

New materials are being invented physically (Playaways)

Consumption devices have to be part of the collection to

maintain access (Kindles, computers)

Content is often licensed not purchased

Seek as many sources for materials as possible

Determine needs of users

Budget

Seek as many sources for materials as possible (with

more aggregators, self distributed and new formats than

ever)

Budget (no one has enough!)

Determine needs of users

(with the information age driving

needs through the roof &

information literacy not keeping pace)

Imagine it is 1985. Tapes are now popular and widely

circulated in libraries and bought in stores. But, the librarian

has to tell the patron the functional differences of the five major

brands of portable tape players, boom boxes, home stereo

players and car players just to get the tape to play they’re

checking out and they might ask you which tape player to

buy to get the tapes in your library to

play and then go out and buy

another tape from a store only

to find out that it

won’t play on the player bought to play

Our ability to provide our three core functions are now

compromised. There is more content than ever to curate

and it challenges us. Collections have new

storage, licensing and management challenges. We are

struggling to catch up. But it’s the expertise that’s being

shoved in our face every day by patrons.

Users are increasingly comfortable with and fearless in using the

increasingly user friendly technology.

But, the ease of use has disguised that their technical and

informational skills are not improving significantly.

So, where do they

go?

The library.

A library in every pocket means a library with a different

collection (and collection needs), different curation

(and those consequences) on a different device

(with the expertise that needs). A librarian now

may work in one library while they work with

hundreds of libraries.

Don’t worry, it will get worse.

Don’t worry, it will get worse.

No one may have wanted to

circulate 8 Tracks (and most

didn’t) but nor did anyone

want you to put your story

times on them. I’ll be doing

that with Youtube soon.

All we have to do is go virtual, get rid of our buildings, the

future is virtual, we can supply everything through

computers…

being such in power, force, or effect,

though not actually or expressly

such

i.e. NOT REAL

Virtual Libraries have force, power,

can have effects but aren’t libraries

We don’t need electronic libraries,

we need libraries (electronic and

more).

I say fight the future

because the future is

a world filled with

libraries and no

librarians, unless we

do something.

The world needs our

collections, curation and

expertise. They need us

on their phones and

computers. And they

need us in physical

facilities.

Our basements should be

server farms we host our

downloadable content on.

We need electronic libraries

and should have apps for

our libraries on every

patron’s smart phone that

they go to as quickly as

Yelp or IMDB.

Above ground we need

story times, computer labs,

game centers, career

centers, class rooms and

everything else that turns

us into community centers.

A book mobile should be

parked outside for

outreach.

In both libraries we need

librarians; we need access

to databases and we need

books. We need to be

available by email and in

person. We need humans

who build better tools and

humans who are there

when the tools aren’t

enough.

We need to be OK with part of libraries dying – its called

evolution. A lot of human assisted casual reference and

circulation will go away. This in no way endangers our

core mission. It does mean

there will be shifts. It does

not mean that reference or

circulation are dying. It

means they are evolving.

However it does mean that a library that doesn’t evolve will

find life as uncomfortable as a ten ton exotherm during the

Ice Age – i.e. freezing to death.

Demand ownership of content.

Eliminate middle men for electronic holdings.

Fold ERMSs into our ILSes.

Make critical decisions about platforms (i.e. e-readers

and formats).

Build community centers.

Never let go of libraries in those buildings.

Build a vocabulary around information literacy.

Find a way to educate about our changing role and their

changing needs.

Integrate collections for complete library experience.

Use better statistical tools and technology to better track

library needs (e.g. living hoods).

Own the content and develop the norms for maintaining

electronic holdings.

Find tools to better manage so many diverse sources.

Use consortiums to better manage material limits.

Accept that more subject expertise will probably be

needed and specializations become more common.

Libraries get an A+ for this.

Do everything we’re doing now and keep going.

Career guidance, story times, financial literacy, adult

literacy and on and on and on ….

Stop teaching IT in library schools. We don’t need to know

how to spin up a Virtual Machine (thought it’s fine if you do

know).

Teach XML and RDA and where they’ll intersect.

Teach signaling and search algorithms and human searching

behavior.

Teach to read people for reference interviews and how binary

logic works.

If this sounds like an argument for fighting to keep

traditional libraries – in many ways it is. We need to

embrace change, even radical change, but we also can

fight the entropy inherit in unguided change. We need to

update our media and mediums but there is nothing wrong

with our values.