You Are the Future of Libraries: No Pressure

“You Are the Future of Libraries: No Pressure” Path to the Future, a University of Maryland Libraries Speaker Series, College Park, MD.

Abstract: If libraries are obsolete in 10 years, it’s your fault. It’s my fault too. As Alan Kay once said “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.” So since we are the people ultimately responsible for creating the future, we are the future of the library. Assume for a moment “they” are right … you know, them. The ones who say that the Internet/ Mass Digitalization /Search Engines/ Wikipedia/Document Right Management/ Whatever is going to put libraries out of business. Assume that the stacks are bare, the coffee bars are empty, and the ivy is left to run riot over the columns. Is there still a library? If that strikes you as an odd question, let me ask you another one. Is the future of the library a question of stacks, coffee bars or ivy?
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2008/UMD.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2008/UMD.mp3
Video: http://ptbed.org/downloads/UMD-Record.mov

Screencast:

Two new articles on Conversants

Social Presence: a theoretical construct for evaluation of the participatory catalog
by Jack M. Maness

This paper suggests the literature of “Social Presence” could provide a theoretical paradigm for the evaluation of social software and related technologies in libraries’ online public access catalogs (OPACs). Social Presence is a well-researched term in communication and education, and it has been demonstrated that a high degree of Social Presence facilitates online communication and learning. A review of the relevant literature, a potential model for understanding the OPAC as a “participatory catalog,” and suggestions for future research are given.

and

Extending the Conversations at the Department of Justice
by R. David Lankes

The following report is based on a series visit to the Department of Justice February 13-15th. During this visit several conversations took place between the researcher, librarians, and library clients within different sections of the Department of Justice and in several DOJ libraries. An initial draft of this report was then provided to the Department for feedback. This revised report briefly outlines the observations in each of these conversations. It attempts to highlight opportunities and provide an outsider’s reaction to these conversations given a very narrow window of engagement. The emphasis in all of this is on the ability/role of DOJ librarians to facilitate these conversations.