2014 12-18--horizon report-for_libraries
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This document summarizes the Horizon Report for Libraries from 2014. It identifies several technologies to watch over the next 1, 2, and 4-5 years that could impact libraries. These include electronic publishing, mobile apps, bibliometrics/citation technologies, open content, the internet of things, and semantic web/linked data. It also discusses key trends like prioritization of mobile content/delivery. Additionally, it outlines challenges facing libraries like rethinking librarian roles and embracing radical change. Discussion questions are provided throughout to engage participants.
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2014 12-18--horizon report-for_libraries
- 1. Facilitated by Paul Signorelli Writer/Trainer/Consultant Paul Signorelli & Associates paul@paulsignorelli.com Twitter: @paulsignorelli December18, 2014 The Horizon Report for Libraries: A Year-End/Year-Ahead Exploration of Tech, Trends, & Challenges
- 4. Setting the Context: What is the most useful and/or important technology yourlibrary uses to furtherits mission?
- 5. Setting the Context: What is the most useful and/or important technology your library uses to further its mission? What do you do to help library users take advantage of that technology?
- 7. Technologies to Watch 2014: Libraries ONE YEAR OR LESS: •Electronic Publishing •Mobile Apps TWO TO THREE YEARS: •Bibliometrics/Citation Tech •Open Content FOUR TO FIVE YEARS: •Internet of Things •Semantic Web/Linked Data 2014: Higher Ed ONE YEAR OR LESS: •Flipped Classrooms •Learning Analytics TWO TO THREE YEARS: •Games & Gamification •3D Printing FOUR TO FIVE YEARS: •Quantified Self •Virtual Assistants
- 8. One-YearHorizon: Electronic Publishing “Libraries arepoisedto bemajorplayers inthedigital revolutionas academic electronic publishingbecomes moresophisticated.” --p. 34
- 9. One-YearHorizon: Mobile Apps “Librarians…are using mobile apps to complete tasks and perform their jobs more efficiently.” --p. 34
- 11. Discussion #1: What (if any) aspects of electronic publishing ormobile apps are already working their way into what you and your colleagues offer?
- 12. Two- to Three-YearHorizon: Bibliometrics and Citation Technologies
- 13. Two- to Three-YearHorizon: Open Content “…freely copiable, freely remixable, and free of barriers to access, cultural sensitivities, sharing, and educational use.” --p. 40
- 14. Discussion #2: What (if any) aspects of bibliometrics/citation technologies oropen content are already working theirway into what you and yourcolleagues offer?
- 15. Four- to Five-YearHorizon: The Internet of Things
- 16. Four- to Five-YearHorizon: Semantic Web and Linked Data
- 17. Discussion #3: What (if any) aspects of the Internet of Things orSemantic Web/Linked Data appearto hold possibilities foryou, your colleagues , and those you serve?
- 18. Key Trends
- 19. Key Trends
- 20. Key Trends
- 21. Fast Trend: Prioritization of Mobile Content/Delivery
- 22. Mid-Range Trend: Increasing Accessibility of Research Content
- 23. Long-Range Trend: Continual Progress in Technology, Standards, and Infrastructure
- 24. Discussion #4: What are some of the tech trends you are already seeing in your library?
- 25. Discussion #4: What are some of the tech trends you are already seeing in your library? How are you working with these trends?
- 26. Key Challenges
- 27. Key Challenges
- 28. Key Challenges
- 29. Solvable Challenge: Rethinking the Roles and Skills of Librarians
- 30. Difficult Challenge: Competition from Alternative Avenues of Discovery
- 31. Wicked Challenge: Embracing the Need forRadical Change http://vimeo.com/92954451
- 32. Discussion #5: Which of the challenges are you already facing in yourlibrary?
- 33. Discussion #5: Which of the challenges are you already facing in your library? How are you addressing those challenges?
- 37. Summary: Technologies to Watch 2014: Libraries ONE YEAR OR LESS: •Electronic Publishing •Mobile Apps TWO TO THREE YEARS: •Bibliometrics/Citation Tech •Open Content FOUR TO FIVE YEARS: •Internet of Things •Semantic Web/Linked Data 2014: Higher Ed ONE YEAR OR LESS: •Flipped Classrooms •Learning Analytics TWO TO THREE YEARS: •Games & Gamification •3D Printing FOUR TO FIVE YEARS: •Quantified Self •Virtual Assistants
- 38. Resources From NMC: All available Horizon reports: http://www.nmc.org/publications Horizon Report wiki: http://library.wiki.nmc.org/ New Media Consortium Wiki-Thon wiki: http://wikithon.wiki.nmc.org/ From Building Creative Bridges Blog: Articles about Horizon reports: http://buildingcreativebridges.wordpress.com/?s=horizon+report
- 40. ForMore Information Paul Signorelli & Associates 1032 Irving St., #514 San Francisco, CA 94122 415.681.5224 paul@paulsignorelli.com http://paulsignorelli.com Twitter: @paulsignorelli http://buildingcreativebridges.wordpress.com
- 41. Credits & Acknowledgments Horizon Report Cover Photo: BigStockPhotography “Keighley Library now has tablets”: From Albert Freeman’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/myza5mo Technologies: Electronic Publishing: From Kahunapule Michael Johnson’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/l83733p Mobile Apps: From César Poyato’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/n9kg2kc “The Measure of a Life…”: From Brian Metcalfe’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/oscgzem Open Content/Share: From Emilio Quintana’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/o4b92wk Internet of Things: From UMKC Libraries’ Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/kegnfex Semantic Web/I Know What You Mean): From Duncan Hull’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/odequrx Trends: Mobile Content/Delivery: From Fachstellen fürÖffentlichen Biblioteken NRW’ s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/lw6grze Accessibility (John Henry Brookes Building/Brookes University: From Howard Stanbury’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/k3mhd3o Technology & Infrastructure: From Cindi’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/qcvry7u Challenges: Rethinking Roles: From Lauren’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/ldqeyrw Alternative Avenues of Discovery (Saltire Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University): From Ewan McIntosh’s Flickr photostream at http://tinyurl.com/kh9r7uo Radical Change: Screenshot from recording of “The Faithful and the Radicals,” by R. David Lankes, on vimeo at http://vimeo.com/92954451 Question Marks: From Valerie Everett’s photostreamat http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/3006348550/sizes/m/in/photostream/
Editor's Notes
- As I was making final adjustments to this presentation last week, I took a couple of minutes to look out one of the windows of my home office in San Francisco. From my vantage point here in the west side of the city, I was enjoying a storm that was bringing lots of water to an area that hasn’t had much rainfall during the past few years. Switching over to an Internet news feed, I saw the same storm from a different (much more hyped) vantage point: we were, according to USA Today, braced for “the fiercest storm in five years.” Twitter hashtags included #deathstorm14, #stormageddon, and #hellastorm. The National Weather Service summary began with predictions of “sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph,” added that we were going to experience “widespread gusts to 50 mph,” noted that worse things were on the way (“local gusts in excess of 60 mph near the coast”), that there would also be “gusts up to 75 mph”—and that’s when I stopped reading. I was afraid that if I read much further, I’d see warnings that the Wicked Witch of the East was going to be flying past my window, Toto wouldn’t be too far behind, the roof was going to be ripped off my house, and deathwinds would individually pluck my cats up and carry them off to far and distant lands.
- All too often, we have a similar experiences as we look at the libraries we love and nurture, and then read or listen to what others are saying about them. You know the drill: libraries will be dead in 20 years, or 10 years, or five years, or two minutes from now. No need to go to school to prepare for a career centered around working in libraries since jobs are decreasing and will disappear. Soon. And besides, Google is making us too stupid to be able to know how to use libraries, and within 40 years we will have lost the ability to read, so there’s no point in sustaining organizations that help make written materials available to anyone interested in using them. Then something like the New Media Consortium Horizon Report > 2014 Library Edition comes along. It documents key trends and challenges in academic libraries in a way that makes us think about what is happening—positively—in all sorts of libraries around the world. It helps us think about and better utilize the educational technology tools available to us. And it makes us understand that if there are storms blowing our way, we have plenty of resources to help us weather those storms so we can and will continue serving the members of our extended communities who rely on us. That’s what we’ll be exploring today.
- As I was searching for an appropriately playful image to use for an introductory exploration of the state of technology in libraries, I was completely taken by this Creative Commons image posted on Flickr by Albert Freeman. It was accompanied by an obviously tongue-in-cheek caption: “Keighley Library [in the North of England] now has tablets.” And while I have no doubt that Keighley also has the more up-to-date tablets that are increasingly becoming a part of our training-teaching-learning environment in libraries around the world, I also think it’s a great image to share as we do a preliminary reality check to see where we are compared to what the Horizon Report on libraries documents.
- Let’s use the chat window to explore a couple of initial questions. Feel free to type in your responses to this one. I’ll read your comments as they come in, offer a few preliminary responses, and then move us on to one more before we see what the Report offers.
- Numerous resources, each of which is described on the New Media Consortium Horizon Project Library Report wiki at: http://library.wiki.nmc.org/Horizon+Topics I’ve added stars here to call attention to the six that are highlighted in the 2014 Library Edition.
- A summary list of the technologies included the Libraries report (right-hand column), with the technologies listed in the Higher Education edition listed in the left-hand column to highlight the differences between these two types of educational/learning organizations
- That lovely quote from the report is our starting point, and I think staff in public and other libraries can already see possibilities in their own venues. Many of us have been content-creators for quite a while. Staff in the Main Library here in San Francisco was preparing and publishing exhibition catalogs more than a decade ago, and online learning resources are also prepared and posted online by colleagues throughout the United States. From the Horizon Report (p. 34) “Already firmly established in the consumer sector, electronic publishing is redefining the boundaries between print and digital, still image and video, passive and interactive…Commonly categorized by libraries as new forms of scholarly communication, electronic publishing is enabling libraries to produce content, either formally through a press or informally through a repository. If the first revolution in electronic publishing was making publishing platforms accessible to anyone, the next phase is the linking of these platforms together to produce new combinations and new types of content. New concepts such as responsive design and open access will allow that content to be archived as well as ported to any device, making it easier for libraries to publish resources that assist and reach people outside of the physical buildings.”
- In preparing for the discussion we’re having today, I made a connection I had not already considered: these two near-horizon technologies—electronic publishing and mobile apps—complement each other very nicely. Electronic publishing, for example, makes us expand our view of what publication is in the early part of the 21st century, and mobile apps make us expand our vision of how we access what is available to us (web-access complemented by access via our mobile devices). When we think about mobile apps that actually contain unique content—a collection of activities that trainers can use with their learners, for example—we can see that mobile apps even provide another platform for publication. If we do think about mobile apps as publications that are valuable resources for library users, we’re not far from asking ourselves how they fit into our collection policies—if at all—and how we might make them available to library users (perhaps following the model of loading selected ebooks onto mobile devices that can be borrowed?). From the Horizon Report (p. 36): “For several years now, a revolution has been taking place in software development that parallels similar shifts in the music, publishing, and retail industries. Mass market is giving way to niche market, and with it, the era of highly priced large suites of integrated software has shifted to a new view of what software should be….a popular app can see millions of downloads in a very short time….Early adopters of mobile apps in academic and research libraries include North Carolina State University Library, University of Minnesota Library, and University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Mobile apps continue to gain traction in academic and research libraries, because they are particularly useful for learning as they enable people to experience new concepts wherever they are, often across multiple devices.”
- We already have numerous colleagues who make their websites accessible via mobile apps, and the Horizon Report mentions the Bavarian State Library as one that “offers multiple mobile apps that allow users to explore ancient texts with augmented reality, location-based features, and geo-referencing in historical maps.”
- So let’s see where you and your colleagues are at this point with these near-horizon technologies…
- We’re starting this part of our discussion with this wonderful slide prepared and posted by Brian Metcalfe on Flickr.com… It’s a simple way of reminding ourselves that when we are talking about bibliometrics and citation technologies, we’re talking about measurement: in this case, the measure of how much of an impact a journal article has on others. The actual measurement documents how many times that article is cited by others. As I’ve noted elsewhere, these technologies at first glance appear to be of far more interest to those working in academic and research libraries than to those in other types of libraries and other training-teaching-learning organizations. But a quick skim of the section, with its summary of tech developments that help us “better gauge an author or journal’s impact,” reminds us that there are plenty of ways for us to sift through the drinking-from-the-fire hose flow of information that threatens to drown us. There is, for example, an introduction to altmetrics—an alternative to bibliometrics that “takes into account a scholar’s online social media imprint as well as their ability to publish their own research in repositories and disseminate it though blogging or other avenues” (p. 38). If you’ve been relying on Facebook and LinkedIn likes and Twitter links to online resources when you’re trying to keep up with new developments, you’re going to find altmetrics to be a tremendous upgrade in terms of leading you to thoughtful, well-developed resources that keep your knowledge current. From the Horizon Report (p. 38): “Coined in 1969 by Alan Pritchard, bibliometrics is the set of mathematical and statistical methods to quantitatively analyze citations and content of academic literature….new algorithms are being developed to better gauge an author or journal’s impact in the field, and help researchers efficiently filter through research databases or select the most appropriate journal for publication.…The demand for citation technologies has given rise to a crop of sophisticated filtering tools that are replacing old metrics with methods based on measurements of semantic publishing. These metrics take into account sharing and annotations via the web and exchanges of data to evaluate the impact of a scholarly work….”
- In our academic and research library settings, open content is clearly becoming part of our learning landscape through increasing amounts of attention given to creating open textbooks and open courses. When we shift our vantage point a bit and consider what open content means to users of public and other libraries, we’re back to asking a question similar to the one we asked about mobile apps: how does open content fit into our collection policies—if at all—and how we help library users more easily find and use it? From the Horizon Report (p. 40): “Open content uses open licensing schemes to encourage not only the sharing of information, but the sharing of pedagogies and experiences as well….As this open, customizable content — and insights about how to teach and learn with it — is increasingly made available for free over the Internet, people are learning not only the material, but also the skills related to finding, evaluating, interpreting, and repurposing the resources.”
- Here’s one that many of us already viscerally understand: “…a network of connected objects that link the physical work with the world of information through the web.” We’re already familiar with tracking materials via RFID; the Internet of Things carries us into a world of “smart objects”—”interconnected items in which the line between the physical object and digital information about it is blurred” (p. 42). Imagine, for example, having your library completely mapped in a way that allows a library user to use a mobile device to physically locate objects. From the Horizon Report (p. 42): “The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected objects that link the physical world with the world of information through the web….Embedded chips, sensors, or tiny processors attached to an object allow helpful information about the object, such as cost, age, temperature, color, pressure, or humidity to be transmitted over the Internet. This simple connection allows remote management, status monitoring, tracking, and alerts if the objects they are attached to are in danger of being damaged or spoiled. Many web tools allow objects to be annotated with descriptions, photographs, connections to other objects, and other contextual information; the Internet of Things makes access to these data as easy as it is to use the web.”
- Efforts centered on creating a highly sophisticated semantic web come down to an important goal: making connections and providing answers that would otherwise be elusive or altogether invisible, the writers of the Horizon Report remind us: “While the evolution of the semantic web is still in its infancy for libraries, the worldwide linked open data movement is just beginning to adopt international standards for digital repositories that contain bibliographic information” (p. 45). From the Horizon Report (p. 44): “Semantic-aware applications infer the meaning, or semantics, of information on the Internet using metadata to make connections and provide answers that would otherwise be elusive or altogether invisible. In the library world, a similar sharing of metadata has been accomplished for nearly 50 years using the machine-readable cataloging format. However, there is a trend toward connecting the metatdata found in library catalog systems with the Internet through variations on linked data. Semantic searching is being applied to scientific inquiries, allowing researchers to find relevant information without having to deal with apparently similar, but irrelevant, information. Semantic applications and linked data have the potential to be immensely powerful educational resources that enable students and researchers to more effectively sift, query, and gather relevant information.”
- For the 2014 Library edition, New Media Consortium staff put trends and challenges into the same sort of chronological context followed in its tech horizons. Trends were separated as follows: Fast Trends driving changes over the next one to two years Mid-range Trends driving changes within three to five years Long-range Trends driving changes in five or more years Here’s a glance at the fast trends—those expected to drive technology in academic and research libraries within a one- to two-year time frame.
- This moves us into the mid-range trends—those within the next three to five years.
- And at the bottom of this list, we see the long-range trends. Let’s look at one from each of those horizons and see what they suggest for libraries in general.
- From the Horizon Report (p. 8): “Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and e-readers are capturing a larger share of the information market. A Pew Research Center study of American adults reported that 42% own tablet computers, 55% own a smartphone, and 50% have a handheld device dedicated to e-reading. With this shift to mobile content consumption, patrons, faculty, researchers, and students are expecting access to library resources anytime and anywhere. To adapt to this growing demand, academic and research libraries are integrating mobile options for content and delivery into their services, including mobile-friendly versions of websites, apps, catalogs, and e-books. Some libraries are furthering this trend by loaning devices such as tablets and e-readers to patrons, just as they would a printed book. As the types of mobile devices and applications continue to evolve, libraries are becoming more focused on lasting solutions that are device-neutral.”
- From the Horizon Report (p. 12): “Major funding entities such as the UK’s Research Excellence Framework, the National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health have implemented guidelines requiring researchers to include dissemination plans for their data along with their outputs, expanding access to encompass all scientific outputs. A number of libraries are opening up their institutional repositories, allowing the general public to access their research. Several journal publishers are meeting institutions halfway by developing novel payment schemes that are based on region or quantity of outputs. More collaboration is taking place between institutions as they work co-operatively to lower costs within the publication process.”
- From the Horizon Report (p. 14): “A recent survey of US academic library directors by Ithaka S + R revealed that libraries are shifting focus from building local print collections to providing remotely accessed online resources and guiding students and researchers through new discovery services. Indeed, a large majority of respondents believe that the importance of building local print collections has declined since the last survey was conducted in 2010. With the transition from physical resources to electronic resources, and the need for new services to support them, libraries are required to frequently assess the state of their operations. A number of trends are driving this focus, including the proliferation of mobile devices, the move towards data resources as part of infrastructure, including changes in identity management, and the increasing importance of cross-institutional systems, such as web-scale discovery and resource sharing, cloud computing, and distributed storage.”
- New Media Consortium staff also, in the 2014 Library Edition, organized challenges into the same sort of chronological context: Solvable Challenges—Those that we understand and know how to solve Difficult Challenges—Those we understand but for which solutions are elusive Wicked Challenges—Those that are complex to even define, much less address
- From the Horizon Report (p. 22): “As more universities incorporate new technologies into teaching and learning, there is an increasing demand for technological and instructional support for faculty and students.…While new roles are being created in traditional library areas, there is a clear hiring trend that emphasizes finding more functional specialists that have a strong digital or technology background. Academic and research libraries are being approached from many different directions and are expected to fulfill new and more specialized capacities. The challenge is in keeping institutions flexible enough to adapt to these new roles while finding leaders that can build sustainable models and collaborate across departments to meet the ever-changing needs of their institutions.”
- As we rethink how we support library users in their search for information and information resources, we are reminded by the writers of the Horizon Report that this can and often does inspire us to rethink how we use the spaces we inhabit: “… library professionals can reconsider how the building itself is structured to accommodate deeper learning through hands-on technology training. In this vision, libraries are not only places of information discovery, but also places where people learn how to learn better” (p. 26). [Photograph shows the Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University; it “is the focus of learning and student services” at the University and has 1,250 Internet-connected study spaces, 360,000 RFID-tagged books, 360 computers, 23,000 journals, a laptop-borrowing facility, and free wifi—information from university website: http://www.gcu.ac.uk/theuniversity/universityfacilities/thesaltirecentre/] From the Horizon Report (p. 26): “Before the rise of the Internet, libraries were widely perceived as the ultimate gateways to knowledge. They served as central locations for visitors to discover new information, compile research, and draw upon the expertise of librarians to direct them to the most helpful resources. In the past two decades, as the Internet has expanded, so has the array of educational content made easily accessible to people. This shift has not only impacted how people research, but also where they conduct research. Performing a simple web search on a topic, for example, often conjures pages of relevant articles, reports, and media. Furthermore, advancements in the semantic web are refining research results and enabling data to be shared across applications. These advents in Internet technology are fostering changes in patron behavior, challenging libraries to either participate in the online knowledge exchange or risk becoming obsolete over time. As a result, libraries are tasked with rethinking how new information can be creatively delivered and discovered within their physical spaces.”
- As we move to the final challenge—that very wicked challenge of embracing the need for radical change—we have a perfect starting point in Dave Lankes’s keynote address “The Faithful and the Radicals,” from early 2014. Lankes is one of our great voices, helping us remember where we are, pointing out where we might be going, and always very lovingly, very humorously, and very passionately helping us find that magnificent place where faith and radicalism in all its myriad meanings offers us tremendous hope and inspiration. From the Horizon Report (p. 28): “Academic and research libraries are facing ongoing leadership issues that impact every aspect of their facilities and offerings, including updating staffing models and addressing a lack of financial resources. Compounding this challenge is the need to adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of technology and to understand its impact on patron behaviors. Once patron needs have been identified, libraries are tasked with revising or building new infrastructure to support more effective research practices, yet the change in focus on integrating innovations seems to be at odds with traditional modes of thought that govern academic and research libraries. Library leadership will require radically different thinking to provide adequate and sustainable support for new initiatives and business models. In order to be effective, this type of thinking will need to extend across the entire organization from the top down — from deans and directors to librarians, support staff, and new hires.”
- The entire Horizon Report process can serve as a learning experience for us… Facilitated wiki Wiki as flexible textbook/learning object Multiple references to online resources (e.g., articles, videos) , with a copious list of endnotes included in this particular edition
- Before we have one final discussion, let’s take a quick look at the organization behind the Horizon Project reports. Think of the New Media Consortium, which is based in Austin, Texas, as a combination of a first-rate learning organization, a think thank, and a publisher committed to providing and using open resources. It has a staff that pulls together a variety of teacher-trainer-learners from all over the world and facilitates cutting-edge research on ed-tech issues affecting a variety of learning organizations: K-12, community colleges, higher education, museums, libraries, and others From http://www.nmc.org/about : “The NMC (New Media Consortium) is an international community of experts in educational technology — from the practitioners who work with new technologies on campuses every day; to the visionaries who are shaping the future of learning at think tanks, labs, and research centers; to its staff and board of directors; to the advisory boards and others helping the NMC conduct cutting edge research. “The role of the NMC is to help our hundreds of member universities, colleges, museums, and organizations drive innovation across their campuses. We do that by performing research that catalyzes discussion, by convening people around new ideas, and by building communities that encourage exploration and experimentation. The events we host reflect the wide range of activities taking place in the NMC Community. The NMC has a growing and influential role on the global stage, working with leading organizations around the world to move current education models to forms that are more engaging, effective, and inclusive.”
- The Horizon Project is one of the New Media Consortium’s longstanding and ongoing efforts to document ed-tech trends, challenges, and technological developments in a way that helps define and support transformative conversations all over the world. This particular edition of the project was downloaded more than 1 million times within the first few weeks immediately following publication online.
- Several resources to explore…the report itself, and two books that explore the theory and practices behind the sort of collaborative efforts that produce the Horizon Project reports