Take a moment and think about how the average patron might use technology. Not necessarily in a library, just in the everyday business of normal life.
Just using the web, patrons can send and receive email, read the news, visit their favorite social networking sites, plan trips, get directions, share themselves through writing, apply for jobs, attend classes on a variety of topics through a variety of educational outlets (academic and otherwise), chat, date, shop, call friends and relatives in other countries through Voice over IP (VoIP) programs, read or listen to books, download and listen to music, romp around virtual worlds, watch movies, research consumer purchases, pay bills and balance checkbooks. And that's just a *sampling* of what is available. Through various mobile devices, from laptops to mobile phones, patrons can carry many of these activities with them, from work, to the coffee shop, to the supermarket, to even the library.
What does any of this have to do with the library? Everything, really. In January 2000, David Pogue wrote a New York Times review (http://urltea.com/2plf ) of Lawrence Lessig's book Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, which predicted that the Internet would be a Wild West where programmers would be sheriffs, and their word would be law. Pogue concluded the review with the comment that "if you don't like the Internet's system, you can always flip off the modem." In the preface to his book Free Culture, Lawrence Lessig quotes this line of Pogue's review, then argues that the purpose of his book Free Culture is to rebuke Pogue's 1999 statement, to argue that the online world has "fundamentally affected 'people who aren't online,'" and that "there is no switch that will insulate us from the Internet's effect."
Librarians cannot afford to flip the modem switch off. Librarians need to realize that the knowledge and implementation of user-centric technology is not optional; it is a pillar of library infrastructure. Technology education components of Library and Information Science programs need to be developed and improved to provide the crucial training to prepare librarians for success and innovation, and to provide excellent services that match patron needs.
A key starting point in technology education improvement is library school candidate recruitment. Library schools simply need to be more selective. Standard admission requirements should include:
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• Knowledge of computer use, the Internet, and document and presentation computer applications, and proof of computer classes taken should earn bonus points. These are the basic tools of our trade, and since a decent percentage of librarians are career changers, this shouldn't be a difficult requirement to meet.
• A customer service personality with innate problem solving skills is a must, as proven by a thorough interview process. These characteristics are just as necessary when using technology as they are when working over a reference question. Too many people think that librarianship is sitting behind a desk reading all day, and library schools need to weed those applicants out.
• Project management experience would be a plus as a valuable skill that can be applied to everything from programs to technology to staff management.
There needs to be recognition that the days when the once-sufficient "I love books and reading" statement are behind us. Books are not the only services that libraries offer to communities, and a librarian, as a point-of-service provider, should be able to help anyone with any of the tools provided in the library environment, and accessible from home. New blood is a key element to infusing the profession with librarians who understand how to transfer their skills to all aspects of their customer-centric position, including the technology component.
Library school curricula need to change so that instead of constantly struggling to catch up with technology trends and innovations, librarians can stay on the bleeding edge, and even innovate in the field. My dream lineup of required classes would include local technology and new media specialists as adjunct instructors, including courses such as:
• Technology 101: Overview of how technology fits into library infrastructure, as well as basic computer, network, Internet structure & troubleshooting, with a lesson teaching component to help students learn to help people using public terminals (a prerequisite to graduation).
• Human Computer Interaction: Basic elements of user-centered design, user behavior, computer development history, quality assurance, user surveying, and usability, to help librarians understand technology from the user perspective.
• Technology Planning & Management: After taking a general management class (which should also really be required), this course would cover how to create a plan for any type of technology implementation in the library -- from full-scale public workstations to smaller projects like using Flickr, Facebook, or other online services at the library -- as well as long-term management of said plans and technologies.
• Marketing Online: How to launch a new online service, create and sustain visibility, cross-marketing opportunities, up-selling services, understand how patrons find and stay with new services, and dealing with changing, moving, or discontinuing a service.
• Technology Labs: Lab sessions (perhaps every other week of every semester) to learn about technology as it emerges and evolves, especially from the user perspective and approach, and to supplement the work in other technology track courses.
In my experience, these are all basic skills that are lacking in librarianship today, even with recent graduates, unless those graduates came from the technology field. Going forward, these are skills that cannot be ignored in an age where we offer home access to online databases, in-library access to a variety of services, and work in an industry where a technology or systems librarian, or technical support specialist, aren't always considered staff necessities.
The same way that technology doesn't stop changing, librarian education should not stop at graduation. While many schools offer continuing education workshops and online courses, the one-shot model isn't sufficient to keep us on our toes. I would like to see:
• Local alumni technology discussion groups who invite technology and new media specialists to speak.
• More news of innovative technologies (as well as other library programs and services) from alumni, to encourage innovation among alumni newsletter and website readers.
• Announcements of other workshops, webinars, local and online resources, especially events that are free or inexpensive, as an information service.
Alumni organizations shouldn't just serve as employment networking and fundraising pools. If library schools offered education that really continues to edify, beyond the one-shot-low-retention model, alumni satisfaction would increase which would lead increased alumni involvement in the alma mater, so everyone wins.
Technology waits for no one. Library and Information Science programs: seize the opportunity to help librarianship do more than just catch up. Help us innovate forward.
Posted by keisuke on February 21, 2008
Tags: Editorials, 2008, No.1
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