Week 1 Reading Notes

OCLC 2004 Information Format Trends: Content, not Containers

Major points:

• "Unbundling" of content - no longer contained in books, journals, etc., not format-dependent
• Desire for a variety of formats means "processes of acquisition, organization, and delivery of content" need to adapt
• Transition from traditional print publishing --> e-books and self-publishing
• Intellectual property issues becoming more of a concern
• Text is still critical, but multimedia content is booming
• Digital content explosion in email, SMS text messaging, and webpages
• Mobile devices --> consumers aren't tied to a computer for access
• Social communication - "many to many"
• Increased expectation for "just-in-time" delivery of content
• "Microcontent" such as ringtones developing
• Rise of "social publishing" such as wikis and blogs
• More consumers getting DVDs by mail or pay-per-view
• Scholarly materials also experiencing massive transition to digital materials (e-books and also print-on-demand)
• Academic and research libraries spend significant amount on e-journal collection subscriptions
• Growth of the Open Access movement
• Greater emphasis on placing information in context and building knowledge from information, rather than just finding information

This article really shows some of the major trends in the information field and how the changes we see today were already evident in 2004, which is now eight years in the past. There are a lot of questions raised here that we still haven't answered. In what formats should libraries make content available? How do we translate content into new formats as tastes and technology change? How will intellectual property law play out in the digital environment? Specifically, how can we balance the rights of consumers of intellectual property with the need to encourage and incentivize its creation?

Lied Library @ four years: technology never stands still

New systems implemented over four years:

• "Off-site access to licensed electronic resources"
• "Digital content management system" for development and access
• Virtual reference software
• A to Z Title List for "better access to the library's electronic serials"
• Link resolver software "to help provide more seamless searching of library electronic resources"
• Laptop checkout program
• Electronic reserves system
• Internet 2 access grid within the library

Existing systems that have grown/changed:

• Media distribution system, print cost recovery system --> now encompass other users
• Various vendor software updates
• Printing system implemented override print queue
• Migrated to one-card system for printing
• Other adjustments to printing system
• Integrated library system - "additional user licenses and new central site hardware"
• Synchronization of patron records with one-card system and student records
• "Digital Library Assistant devices for stacks management"
• Computer replacement project

Continuing challenges:

• Hardware and software maintenance costs
• Computing resources management
• Fighting spread of malicious software
• Physical space limitations
• Security
• Hardware/software issues or glitches
• Maintaining or growing sufficient staff for information technology services
• Building an institutional repository
• Continuing to replace computers
• Expanding instruction sessions
• Enhancing network infrastructure
• Further RFID tagging
• Changes in library leadership

I thought this was a great example of an academic library's changes over the past few years and how they have adapted to changing technology. Obviously there are new challenges ahead for academic libraries, but the sense I got from this article was that establishing a culture where technological change is met and embraced is a huge part of a library continuing to thrive today.

Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture

Information technology literacy is an understanding of...

• "the technology infrastructure"
• "the tools technology provides and their interaction with this infrastructure"
• "the legal, social, economic, and public policy issues that shape the development" of infrastructure/applications/technologies

Information literacy is about...

• "content and communication"
• "authoring, information finding and organization, the research process, and information analysis, assessment, and evaluation"
• in the form of "text, images, video, computer simulations, multi-media interactive works"
• for the purpose of "news, art, entertainment, education, research and scholarship, advertising, politics, commerce" and business or personal documents and records

In information technology literacy, students need to know...

• how to use word processing, spreadsheets, computers in general, web browsers, email systems, possibly a programming language (short-term skills, quickly become dated)
• "how technologies, systems, and infrastructure work" at a "superficial descriptive level" and/or a "more detailed analytic or engineering level" (more crucial than skills with specific tools)
• troubleshooting, problem-solving, and debugging of software
• "graphic display of quantitative information"
• "construction, analysis, and use of simulations"
• basics of "computing, telecommunications, broadcasting, publishing, electrical power distribution, transportation, and financial infrastructure"
• "history, economics, social and public policy issues"

In information literacy, students need to know...

• "authoring and critical and analytic reading (including the assessment of purpose, bias, accuracy, and quality)" in text AND visual and multimedia communication
• that digital forms are more fluid and that computers can manipulate what were once "factual records" such as images
• searching systems as well as cataloguing, abstracting, indexing, rating
• the importance of information accessibility, visibility, and impact
• "the limitations of both digital information resources and...searching techniques"
• how information resources and technological and economic structures interrelate
• what information resources are appropriate for specific information needs
• legal, social, economic, and ethical issues surrounding intellectual property
• issues of privacy, "information authenticity, provenance and integrity, documentation and archiving" and records management and construction

In other classes I've learned about some of the skills and competencies associated with information literacy, but information technology literacy is something I hadn't heard of before. There are a lot of questions in how to best teach these new literacies to both young people and adults, as well as what the average person will or will not find useful. The article touches on some of these questions. Another question is whether these are skills/competencies or general comprehension/knowledge or specific attitudes that we want to engender through education. Regardless, as someone who wants to work with young people in particular, I agree that this topic is critical.