I was interviewed for the inaugural issue of AIP's 'Library Matters' about the future of libraries & the role of mobile/social technologies. Full text of this interview is posted online at http://librarians.aip.org/newsletter_library.pdf - AND - as a note on my Facebook profile

1. vanced uses of Ning for education, and enhancing collections with
From the multimedia. I am impressed by libraries teaching information skills
for social networking sites and Web 2.0 tools. I am also excited
Stacks about alternative and advanced methods of connecting users to
electronic content, like Lisa Carlucci Thomas’s investigation into ac-
Joe Murphy earned a MLISc degree from
the University of Hawaii at Manoa in cessibility of e-content through multiple eBook readers at the Yale
Photo: Lisa Carlucci Thomas
2006. He is now Science Librarian, Coor- Libraries.
dinator of Instruction and Technology in Developing the skills outlined in your Social Networking Literacy
Yale University’s Science Libraries, where Competencies paper seems to require a huge investment of time and
he created a ground breaking text-a-li- energy. How do you keep current on these new technologies?
Joe Murphy brarian program. He recently co-authored The skills outlined in my paper, “Social Networking Literacy
a compelling paper outlining social networking competencies for Competencies for Librarians,” are a set of new core competencies
librarians, and provides consulting for implementing innovative for information providers. Institutions must devote time and en-
services. Also known as libraryfuture on Twitter, google Joe; you’ll ergy to ensuring employees and new hires overcome the fear of
find him on nearly every social networking site out there.We con- new technologies and have these skills in order to be successful
tacted Joe to learn more about how he’s using Web 2.0 technolo- information providers.
gies in his work, how he sees others using these technologies, and
what he thinks the future has in store. How do you see these new technologies fitting into the evolution
of libraries?
Tell us about your "Txt a Science Librarian" program at Yale. The mobile phone is the work station of the near future, with
I blazed the trail with a text messaging (SMS) reference service at the mobile apps as service platforms and Twitter for internal commu-
Yale Science Libraries to provide answers on the go for our modern nication. Mobile applications are the new major platform for
mobile patrons.We use an Apple iPhone to provide this service be- eBooks, while other significant platforms deliver content by SMS
cause it allows us to meet the mobility of our patrons and informa- and Twitter. I envision a robust library presence within Facebook,
tion, and is flexible enough to provide services in the mobile web. and more vendors offering Facebook applications directing pa-
What are some other exciting projects that incorporate social trons to full-text resources. Our challenge is to develop new busi-
media and Web 2.0 technologies? ness models and plans for authenticating access. SMS is a natural
Successful library 2.0 services are mobile, virtual, and social; excit- extension of all information services. Discoverability in OPACs
ing projects sit at the confluence of mobile devices, social network- and databases can be enhanced with searching, managing, and
ing, and information.We use our Twitter account (yalescilib) to assist sharing results via SMS. The physical library, like the print book,
in discovery, monitor patron concerns, engage in proactive cus- still plays a role. Libraries can become friendlier to mobile devices
tomer service, make our expertise available, and to provide refer- by adding cell phone reception enhancers and revising “no cell
ence. Twitter is great for enhancing instruction: engaging students phone” policies to reflect the importance of cell phones in infor-
in class and beyond the lecture hall.Twitter is transforming how we mation usage. Planning programs with sustainable service models
engage in scholarly communication, so I teach about its roles and can be tricky. It requires new skills for librarians who will have to
the skills needed by successful consumers and contributors. evaluate proprietary tools such as iPhone and Facebook applica-
tions just as we now evaluate books and databases. They will have
What are some of the neat things you see others, including to learn how to archive and collect Twitter posts in institutional
researchers and students, doing with 2.0? repositories, and measure the importance of contributions, as
I appreciate responsive businesses using Twitter for customer serv- ‘Retweets’ (sharing posts on Twitter) may partially replace citation
ice, which is something libraries can learn a lot from. I love mobile counts.Vigilant and flexible libraries and publishers that strategi-
friendly OPACs and library web pages, applications for online so- cally engage emerging technologies without compromising our
cial networks including Facebook and MySpace by libraries, ad- traditional strengths will continue to thrive.
TRAVERSING THE TWITTERSPHERE
AIP continues to reach out to scientists, students students seeking careers in physics, job positions,
and librarians through new channels. One of our educational resources, and more. We hope to
latest avenues is the micro-blogging site Twitter. continue to build our Twitter community
and to engage scientists, librarians, educators,
We started “tweeting” from @AIP_Publishing in students, journalists and science writers, drawing
April on a wide range of topics, including AIP their attention to AIP’s valuable content and
journal and conference proceedings content, promoting the vast resources AIP offers to
science news briefs, science policy bulletins, AIP the scientific community. Follow us on Twitter,
member society announcements, resources for @AIP_Publishing.
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