Technology & Libraries: An inevitable Partnership by Anwer Ejaz

1. TECHNOLOGY & LIBRARIES: AN
INEVITABLE PARTNERSHIP
MUHAMMAD ANWAR EJAZ

2. AGENDA
• Technology and Libraries - Timelines
• Technology adoption in Libraries
• Ages of Library Automation
• NMC Horizon Report 2017- Library Edition
• Need of Technology Infused Library Services
• Academic Libraries at crossroad of Digital Scholarship
• University of Florida Libraries

3. TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES - TIMELINES
• 1881 - J.S. Billings, then director of what was to become the National Library of
Medicine, suggests to Herman Hollerith that a mechanical system based on cards be
used to tabulate the Census. Hollerith develops a punch card system used with the
1890 Census.
• 1938 – Mechanical preparation of library catalogs through punched cards
• 1968 - US Libraries began using MARC Cataloging Records
• 1971 - Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) introduces an online shared cataloging
system for libraries

4. TECHNOLOGY AND LIBRARIES - TIMELINES
• 1978 - Dallas Public Library introduces one of the first online public catalogs (OPACs)
• 1993 – CERN releases the World Wide Web into the public domain
• 1994 - At the dawn of the Internet era, the Library of Congress launches its website at
www.loc.gov along with its National Digital Library program aimed at digitizing primary
sources related to the study of American history.
• 1995 - Launch of D-Lib Magazine, which focuses on digital library research and
development. 1995 was very productive year for development of internet technologies.
• 2000 - MIT Libraries and Hewlett-Packard begin a joint project to build the Dspace Digital
Repository

5. TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN ORGANIZATIONS
• Richard West and Peter Lyman have suggested a three-phase procession of
the effects of information technology on organizations:
• Modernization (doing what you are already doing, though more efficiently);
• Innovation (experimenting with new capabilities that the technology makes
possible);
• and Transformation (fundamentally altering the nature of the organization
through these capabilities).

6. TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN LIBRARIES
• To understand what has happened to academic libraries in the latter part of the
twentieth century, one needs to recognize that
• libraries function within a much broader context that includes the publishing and
information marketplace, changing modalities of scholarly communication, and
evolving capabilities in the user community.
• The information technology has profoundly changed all aspects of higher education
and scholarship, and these changes continue to unfold today.
• Innovation and transformation for academic libraries take place within this broader
context; libraries cannot be considered in isolation from this context.

7. AGES OF LIBRARY AUTOMATION
• The First Automation Age: Computerizing Library Operations
• 1950s and early 1960s (post Sputnik era) to 1980s
• Introduction of Minicomputers for circulation and books barcoded
• Shared copy cataloging, Consortia, OCLC, RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network)
• The Second Automation Age: The Rise of Public Access
• 1980s --
• OPAC, Campus Networks, Remote access of libraries, Consortia, Internet Growth, Indexing
Abstracting Databases (that ultimately paved path for delivery of contents online instead of
mere bibliographic information), resource sharing, union catalogs, computer-assisted inter
library loan.

8. AGES OF LIBRARY AUTOMATION
• The Third Automation Age: Print Content Goes Electronic
• Cost of storage and bitmapped display technology come down, Networks becomes fast
to deliver images and ASCII text data, full-text databases, digitization of special
collections by libraries,
• The Networked Information Revolution: Innovation and Transformation
• The idea of networked information emerged: a vast constellation of digital content and
services that were accessible through the network at any time, from any place, could be
used and reused, navigated and integrated, and tailored to the needs and objectives of
each user.

9. LIBRARIES – AGGRESSIVE ADOPTERS OF
TECHNOLOGY?
• libraries have always been aggressive adopters of automation
technologies— sometimes too aggressive (book-storage robots and ultrafiche
are two notable examples). They have been more skeptical and reluctant to
adopt innovation (network access, new media, new digital genres,
personalization, and recommender systems are good examples here)—though
often they have had good cause for their caution.

10. THE NMC HORIZON
REPORT: 2017
LIBRARY EDITION
-6 Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption
-6 Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption
-6 Important Developments in Technology

12. • Libraries need to learn Research Data Curation
• Usability principles for Digital and Physical Spaces – for more efficient and
personal experiences for patrons
• Contents Consumption vs making and creating
• Libraries and Creation Hubs
• Libraries as sole source of information vs a place to be productive

15. THE CHALLENGE
• In the print-based environment, our users organized their workflows around
the library because the information they accessed to keep up-to-date and to
inform their research was housed inside our buildings.
• Today it’s very different: users are able to meet their information needs
outside the library and we need to redevelop our services so that we are
interacting with and fitting into the user’s workflow. We need to rethink our
business model for the digital age and redesign our model of interaction with
the research community.

16. SO, THERE IS A
• shift away from the library as a collection of information that is purchased
and kept on shelves, towards a distributed global network of resources.
• This includes the online journal collections, e-books and digital archives
produced by learned societies and commercial publishers; the freely
available resources from repositories and digitized archives; and the large-
scale, also freely available resources such as the Hathi Trust’s digital collection
and Google Books.

17. LIBRARIES AS HEART OF THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION
AND INNOVATION
• libraries are–going beyond being places to merely access knowledge to
become hubs to truly explore and create.
• The Executive Vice President and Provost of University of Virginia, John Simon,
he described the library as the great “Intellectual Convener.”
• Libraries are evolving into catalysts for discovery, learning, collaboration, and
scholarly breakthroughs.

18. LIBRARIES MUST RESPOND TO STRATEGIC CAMPUS
AND BUSINESS NEEDS
• The University of Guelph conducted online staff surveys, open town-hall sessions, focus group
discussion, student intercept polling and interactive staff planning workshops to develop a
plan to renovate the existing facility.
• The plan created 40% more study space, including flexible active learning instruction areas, a
range of collaborative group-study rooms and a new “Research Collaboratory,” co-located
with reading and exhibit rooms.
• By reorganizing for efficiencies in staff workspaces and moving non-technical operations off
the main floor, the university also created a vibrant new main entrance that invites students
into the learning commons and offers a 24-hour zone, café, and computer lab.

19. LIBRARIES NEED TO HAVE TECHNOLOGY INFUSED
IN EVERY ASPECT OF SERVICE
• Wilfrid Laurier University made technology a central focus for the planning of
its new library which will be fully equipped to support the multimedia, study
and instructional needs for its 16,000 students. The library offers robust access
to technology and digital content along with an IT infrastructure capable of
supporting 24/7 fast-paced learning and connectivity.
• The University of Guelph made similar adaptations for McLaughlin Library by
introducing compact shelving for a consolidated collection and spaces and
tools reflective of the rise of digital resources.

20. ACADEMIC LIBRARIES STEP UP TO ADVANCE DIGITAL
SCHOLARSHIP
• Another important aspect of 21st-century librarianship will be assisting students in finding
the information they need and understanding what to do with it
• libraries will be at the crossroads of digital scholarship — or “the implementation of
technology to support the access, retrieval and application of knowledge.”
• University libraries will be able to help scholars understand new research processes facilitated
by updates to technology. Also, trends in data have created the need for new job roles
within academic libraries, such as science data librarian and data visualization coordinator.
• It is no simple task for librarians to gain the skills necessary to work with a variety of
disciplines and methods,” reports New Media Consortium (NMC) “Therefore, academic
libraries are working to build capacity internally to better serve their communities

21. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
George A. Smathers Libraries

38. THANK YOU