Technology in Libraries: don’t throw out that PC – yet

Any news article on technology today, talks about tablets, mobile and wearable devices.  Attending a major exhibition on education and technology, I expected to hear about learning taking place through the use of teleports and hover shoes.  However, one session I visited, on learning in universities urged us to take a more cautionary approach.

At the BETT Show 2014, there was a session called “Creating Flexible Learning Spaces for the Future Student”. I went along hoping to get some tips and ideas for one of my libraries which will soon undergo redevelopment. The emphasis was upon HE libraries but they obviously have a relevance further education and even more so if we are expected to support more HE courses in the near future.

The first part of the session was delivered by Dr. Graham Walton of Loughborough University who surveyed students at his own university as well as York University.  They asked learners some simple questions such as:

What technologies do you bring into the Library?

	York	Loughborough
Laptops	65%	37%
Tablets	12%	10%
Smartphones	80%	55%

Conclusions from the survey were:

• Tablets seem to be the preserve of staff rather than learners in universities.
• Learners prefer laptops because of the Microsoft Office applications.
• Security and weight are important obstacles for students wanting to bring in laptops to University.
• Learners prefer to use their smartphones for social media and fixed PCs for work. This balance is expected to change over the next few years as students learn to use their smartphones for educational purposes.
• The demand and need for fixed PCs shows no signs of slowing.

The second part of the session was delivered by Liz Waller of the University of York. Liz looked at the results of SCONUL statistics from 23 universities over a 3 year period. Her conclusions were:

Learning Spaces

• Learning space has to be totally integrated with teaching and learning strategies.
• Create open spaces don’t create rooms.  The flexible approach can be managed with portable screens etc.
• Good redevelopments don’t stop when the redevelopment finishes.  Learning spaces should constantly evolve to meet students’ changing needs and demands.

Technology in Learning Spaces

• Wireless spaces MUST also be with power. Wherever you place wireless (libraries, common rooms, canteens etc.) you must make sure that power points are also numerous and readily available.
• Network connections without fixed PCs are dead.  There was a fall in use of this service by about 77%.
• Laptops are still important to learners because they offer a full range of functions not available from mobile devices.
• Students still demand fixed PCs even if the “battery hen” approach to fixed PCs is not always desirable.

I was surprised at these conclusions: learning spaces in HE don’t sound exactly cutting edge but this is where HE learners are at the moment.  Perhaps younger learners currently in FE will soon make different demands on HE services and space but for the moment it may be important to take a more measured approach to planning our learning spaces whilst at the same time incorporating flexibility to ensure we can meet that change.

Mary, Queen of Libraries?

Anyone unfortunate enough to miss the latest series of Mary, Queen of Shops (BBC) missed a treat. You also missed several lessons that all librarians could heed.

For those who know nothing of the series, retail guru, Mary Portas visits ailing local shops in the hope of turning their fortunes around and being able to prosper in an age of retail giants such as Tesco, Sainsbury's etc. What has this got to do with libraries? Well, quite a lot.

In the first programme Mary takes on a feisty old baker who has "been in the business 36 years, darlin." Her inability to move her business on since the 1970's sent shudders of recognition down my book spine. Be honest, how many libraries have you been in (or more likely walked past) because they looked like something from "Life on Mars"? (Oh come on, I don't have to explain this programme as well do I?).

Of course most libraries these days have had some form of refit in recent years but this is no reason to get complacent. As the series illustrates, this is not just about a new shop front and new interior, it is also about product. What services are we offering today that we were offering 30 years ago and have they changed in any way? As I watched this particular episode my mind jumped to the many books on our shelves which never get borrowed or used but we are required to keep by lecturers because they are "classics".

Indeed all episodes have a salutary lesson for us: whether it is knowing our customers; ensuring we are meeting customer needs rather than our own; the importance of drawing up a business or strategic plan; discovering our unique selling point; or simply not cluttering up our shelves with unwanted junk just in case someone, one day, may pop in thinking they need it.

Libraries, like corner shops are struggling for an identity in a rapidly changing world. Even so, Mary Portas offers some solutions.

If we consider the library as the struggling local shop in the high street and Google as Tesco then we have a workable parallel. What do we offer that people can't obtain from Google or online? This is our value. It is here that we should concentrate services and activities. Stop trying to compete with the giants at their game and start considering our differences as our unique selling point.

In some respects we have it easier than local shops who have to compete with the professional customer service of the retail giants: all we have to compete with is a search box. This is not to say, of course that we do not need to provide the very best in customer service to our students/readers etc. Far from it. The lessons from this series are that shops, like libraries, can survive and prosper by offering what the giants cannot: service, specialism and the whole social experience of entering and being part of a library or shop.

In the current economic climate, libraries of all types are have to demonstrate their value to their parent organisation and the importance of their product. Failure to do so will see us ignored like the run-down, boarded up shops of the old high street. As the focus of cuts turn to the public sector, there are question marks above the heads of all public services not just libraries.

With this in mind, I am starting a one man campaign: that the fourth series of "Mary, queen of..." examines the role of public sector services in general and includes a library as part of its remit. Mary Portas may know nothing of libraries or other services but then again as the last episode illustrated, she knew nothing of hardware shops yet she was able to make a difference. The campaign starts here for "Mary, Queen of Libraries."

Links:

BBC: Mary Queen of Shops

Mary Portas

New staff uniform?

I saw this T-shirt in Amsterdam (I've censored it a bit) and thought it would be perfect for any library. Some staff may take a bit of persuading, though.

Blogs in Libraries

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a few librarians who said they would like to get into blogging but couldn’t see what use they could have in a library setting. I had a similar conversation again this week which made up my mind to post an entry in my own blog about where to start.

3 Sources of Ideas:

First of all, as an introduction read chapter 3 of Phil Bradley’s book “How to use Web 2.0 in your library” probably not available in all good bookshops but can be purchased via Facet Press – just get your Cilip membership cards out for that discount. Phil covers the obligatory “what is a weblog?” bit but then places it in a library setting. Here he describes the publicity angle of a blog: promoting exhibitions, events and new stock.

The beauty of this medium is that you can use your smaller displays to easily tie in to wider and much larger events on the net. Similarly, one of the conventions of a blog, the comments page allows your readers or students to let you know exactly what they think. If they make recommendations for new stock, they are doing half of the work for you!

Secondly, I would recommend Week 1 of “Five Weeks to a Social Library”. There are plenty of presentations here but if you only watch one I would recommend Anne Welsh’s screencast “From Writer’s Block to Library Blog”. Although Anne writes from a very specific point of view as information officer at DrugScope, she talks about very universal themes. This presentation gave me loads of ideas. Her basic theme is to think about the things we do anyway and just do them differently. All we are doing through our blogs is repackaging what we already do but in a way that makes it more interesting to us and to our audience.

Thirdly and finally, I would highly recommend you read Roddy MacLeod’s guest article (there’s another idea for you!) UK Library Blogs - What Do We Think We're Doing? on Brian Kelly’s UK Web Focus. Roddy’s university, Heriot Watt’s Library produce a blog called “Spineless?” (gedditt??!!). Halfway down the article Roddy lists the purpose and suggested posts for the blog. There are loads of ideas here.

Make sure you also read the comments to Roddy’s article. Again there are plenty of ideas and encouragement, particularly from Phil Bradley (that man again!). Those who worry that they need to get everything right first time will be put at ease by Phil’s comments.

If anyone has any other good places librarians should start, or ideas librarians could put in practice, please feel free to comment.

Web 2.0 book

Phil's book arrived through my letterbox last week. As you would expect, it is packed with explanations of the various elements which make up Web 2.0 and loads of hints and tips as to how these applications may be applied to libraries. I will be using this book in conjunction with the Five Weeks to a Social Library website which has already had enough publicity from me. Copies can be bought from Facet Publishing. It also gives me an excuse to add my first picture to my otherwise dull-looking blog.

Social Libraries

In my quest to become the Prince of Web 2.0 and King of Library 2.0. I have discovered an excellent resource called Five Weeks to a Social Library. The course was run in February 2007 for a few lucky worldwide candidates. However most of the resources are still on the website and can be viewed or listened there. Of course, there is no social interaction with the candidates as the course has now finished - and guess what part was supposed to have been the best! To be honest, it sometimes feels like entering a room long after the party has finished - but by looking at the CDs you can still make out what people were dancing to.

Still, I am enjoying discovering the wonders of Web 2.0 via the course, even if it has taken me five weeks just to get to the end of week 1.

Web 2.0 Parody

I give in! No sooner do I try to get to grips with Web 2.0, than I discover that some bright sparks are already so accustomed to it that they are making parodies of it. Having said that, it is well observed and at times very funny.
http://librarianwoes.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/supermarket-20/

I haven't come across this blog before but it seems full of interesting things so I think I'll subscribe to it.

Chartership blogs

Blogs really do work! Since I started this blog, I have recieved e-mails from librarians interested in Charles Leadbeater's book on Web 2.0 and physical space (see link on the right of this page). Most respondents are currently undergoing the process of chartering, so I thought it would be a good idea to include their chartering blogs on my blog. If anyone wishes me to include their blog on becoming chartered, I will be happy to oblige, thus increasing our little community.

Web 2.0 and physical space

Reading December's Update last night (Saturday - how sad is that!) gave me food for thought. Under the banner of "Creative Collaboration" the article, "Overdue author asks us what we think", Charles Leadbeater states:
"Do not design the office around the executive offices but around places where people congregate, mingle and talk: cafes, open workspaces, libraries.
Workspaces should be designed to promote collaboration, self-organisation and interaction."
Placing this in the further education context is quite interesting. My own college has devoted most of its resources to improving the state of its classrooms. Whilst this has been very effective, the communal spaces such as the canteen, common-room and LRC have seen little in the way of expansion. Leadbeater, argues that these physical spaces are going to grow in prominence. Web 2.0 developments will have an impact on physical space and how people work. Leadbeater is currently working on a book on this theme and is inviting people to comment and collaborate on it prior to its publication. You can read more of his fascinating insight at www.wethinkthebook.net

On more mundane matters I have an idea for a blog in work. One of the problems of having part-time staff is finding a convenient time when we are all in work to pass on information. At the moment I find I have to explain things 5 times over and normally I miss someone out. If I create a blog on the college's intranet, staff should have no excuse about not being informed of the latest developments in the LRC. Of course, it will be meaningless to anybody else (not unlike this blog then) but at least everyone will be informed.