Libraries of the Future

School Library to Learning Commons: Planning the journey

by Camilla Elliott

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

by Dan Petrovic

The Promise and Challenge of Digital Data

A great evening with the Friends of the Library brings a fascinating discussion around the promises and challenges of... more A great evening with the Friends of the Library brings a fascinating discussion around the promises and challenges of digital data. Four industry experts shared their insight and knowledge around information preservation, digitisation, retrieval, storage and continuity.

The @One service environment: information services for and by the millennial generation

by Tod Colegrove

Co-authored with Zink, S.D., Medaille, A., Mundt, M., and Aldrich, A.
Published in Reference Services Review (2010), Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 108-24.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss an academic library's need to engage all available resources to... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss an academic library's need to engage all available resources to provide the services required by the changing uses, formats, and production of information.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the @One service environment as a case study. The service and staffing model employed a sample of 20 students and professionals who work at the @One desk. Attitudes toward the @One space were assessed through one-on-one interviews using two different interview protocols. Participants were asked open-ended questions that allowed them to talk at length in response.

Findings – It is found that the University of Nevada, Reno's Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center has implemented a highly interactive service environment in support of production-intensive information technologies. Professionals from numerous information disciplines participate in staffing the department, but student staff constitute the core of service delivery.

Originality/value – This paper provides information on an interactive staffing model in a US university.

A new vision for university libraries: towards 2015

by Mal Booth

Co-authored with Dr Belinda Tiffen and Sophie McDonald (both from UTS). 2009.

At UTS, plans for a new library building to open in 2015 are fuelling a re-imagining of our library. We are moving... more At UTS, plans for a new library building to open in 2015 are fuelling a re-imagining of our library. We are moving towards a new sustainable, client focussed and innovative library that will find its physical expression in a new library building, but is envisioned as being situated equally in the physical and digital environments. In this paper, we aim to describe our vision of the future by revealing some of the plans and projects already underway at UTS Library, and also by speculating a bit on our future - and perhaps yours.

NIngún libro es también una escalera

by Arnd Wedemeyer

published in Aris Fioretos (ed.), Babel. Festschrift für Werner Hamacher (Basel: Urs Engeler, 2008).

The digital library: The next Sigmoid curve of the information profession.

by Marinus Swanepoel

This paper was presented at the 1996 conference of The International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL) in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Although it cannot be stated as fact that the digital library is the next Sigmoid Curve of libraries, it will be folly... more Although it cannot be stated as fact that the digital library is the next Sigmoid Curve of libraries, it will be folly for librarians not to consider this likely possibility very seriously and to ensure that they are prepared should it happen. The wise librarian must see to it that he has young up coming and dynamic leaders in his organization, prepared to ride the next wave so that the library may benefit.

What is clear at this stage, is that even if books and the traditional formats are not replaced by computer media, computer media, at the very least, will be a very important permanent supplement thereto. This point of view is based on the fact that the important thing about media is that they should be appropriate. Appropriateness is not an absolute concept, but it can be defined in terms of suitability for a purpose.

With the huge gap between the First and Third World, it stands to reason that the digital medium is not an appropriate one for the latter. The First World is thus closer to point Z on the curve and the Third World closer to point X.

Putting the "e" in Free

by Donna Ekart

Computers in Libraries, March 2010

Making the best of free e-resources for your library users. Making the best of free e-resources for your library users.

Joint Use Libraries In the UK

by Sarah McNicol

This book examines all aspects of joint-use libraries, from the implications of government policy, to design and... more This book examines all aspects of joint-use libraries, from the implications of government policy, to design and operational issues and evaluation. It considers all forms of joint-use library (e.g. school-public, college-public, university-public, health-university), reflecting on different models adopted around the world. Some of the main issues discussed include: partnership working, staffing and management, stock, digital resources, learning and literacy and community involvement.

A New Vision for University Libraries: Towards 2015

by Sophie McDonald

Peer reviewed conference paper co-authored with Mal Booth and Belinda Tiffen and presented at VALA 2010

At UTS, plans for a new library building to open in 2015 are fuelling a re imagining of our library. We are moving... more At UTS, plans for a new library building to open in 2015 are fuelling a re imagining of our library. We are moving towards a new sustainable, client focussed and innovative library that will find its physical expression in a new library building, but is envisioned as being situated equally in the physical and digital environments. In this paper, we aim to describe our vision of the future by revealing some of the plans and projects already underway at UTS Library, and also by speculating a bit on our future - and perhaps yours.

Creating Information Learning Communities in Second Life

by Craig Cunningham

with Lori Bell, Mary-Carol Lindbloom, Barbara Galik
part of Second Life Community Convention 2007

The Alliance Second Life Library has created a dynamic and interactive information and learning community in Second... more The Alliance Second Life Library has created a dynamic and interactive information and learning community in Second Life through library, education, non-profit, and other partnerships. The Info Archipelago has grown from one island to over twenty within a year. Library services are provided by over 500 self-identified international library volunteers and creative exhibits, displays, and immersive learning environments are being formed for professional development and Second Life residents. Examples of these include Renaissance Island - dedicated to 16th century Elizabethan life, a science center with over 600 members, individual libraries of all types such as Bradley University which will recreate their campus and contribute to the collaborative library effort, and strategic partnerships with educators to offer for credit courses, non-credit courses, and informal learning opportunities. Through this panel discussion we will share what we have done and also seek input from the audience as to what other types of services would be of benefit to the Second Life education community. In the book Wikinomics by Daniel Tapscott, he discusses the fact that in today's world of rapidly changing technology and increasing amounts of information, it is impossible for one business or agency to be on top of every innovation and new technological development -that to continue to be innovative, businesses and other agencies need to reach out and work with others in new ways -mass collaboration. This is true of the libraries and education agencies in Second Life. No one library could offer 24/7 services in a physical location, an interactive website and a third place, virtual worlds. The Alliance Second Life Library, which started in April 2006 with a rented building, has grown quickly because of volunteer librarians and others from all over the world, libraries which have established presences in Second Life, and educational and non profit partners who all work together to create an information community on the Info Island Archipelago.

"Learning from the Past: Digitization and Information Loss"

by Julia Skinner

B Sides, May 2010.

The increased use of the Internet for research, as well as the desire to preserve information, has necessitated the... more The increased use of the Internet for research, as well as the desire to preserve information, has necessitated the digitization of library materials. This paper seeks to draw a comparison between the challenges of microfilming and digitizing, and what can be learned from previous formatting efforts to reduce data loss during current endeavors.

"O'Donnell's *Avatars of the Word*"

by Gregory Nixon

Book Review: *Journal of Consciousness Studies* 6(7), Oct 1999. 120-2.

J. J. O’Donnell is one those scholars whose learning is assumed rather than displayed. As a result, his brief approach... more J. J. O’Donnell is one those scholars whose learning is assumed rather than displayed. As a result, his brief approach to the long-terms effects of the computer revolution on reading and higher education feels like a bracing, sophisticated exchange of ideas. Like conversation, O’Donnell’s thesis is not terribly unified or orderly. He often makes sidetracks from his focus on high technology and literacy into explaining such interesting things as how we choose our cultural ancestry instead of merely evolving out of it, the errors of current education, and perhaps more than you ever wanted to know about other avatars of the word such as St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and Cassiodorus. Great cover too.