8/31 readings

Kochtanel and Matthews (2002). Ch 1. The evolution of LIS and enabling technologies. In Library Information Systems,  pp. 3-12.


This article provided a useful history of Library Information Systems over the decades. The general trend described was mechanization which led to automation and finally led to integration. Mechanization and automation benefitted patrons by increasing the efficiency of cataloguing, locating, and circulating materials in the library.

Integration in libraries benefits patrons to a far greater degree; the Internet, ILL, and digital collections not only improve efficiency for local documents but allow patrons access to a far greater collection of materials around the globe than was previously possible.

One take away message is that the Internet can be considered not a single revolutionary technology but a collection of multiple applications. In addition to libraries integrating their documents with those from other institutions, different web applications must also be integrated, such as eBooks, online databases, and a library's own searchable catalogue.


Discussion question: What position should libraries take when embracing new technology? Bleeding edge, leading edge, in the wedge, trailing edge? Do different kinds of libraries require different approaches to technology?




Arnold Hirshon (2008). Environmental scan: A report on trends and technologies affecting libraries.

The previous article focused on the history of technology in libraries, and this article focuses on the present trends, and what is likely to develop in the near future. The author acknowledges that predicting the future is difficult, especially the further into the future you go. He recommends looking to the past for patterns. He also encourages an open-minded attitude towards new technology by embracing the bothersome and dismantling our strongest conclusions.

A good example of a bothersome technology is the eBook and eJournal, which has already changed the basic role of bookstores, publishers, newspapers, and libraries. Those institutions which dismiss the eBook as a bothersome invention are sure to become obsolete, while those which adapt to include the new technology will continue, albeit in altered forms. Barnes & Noble developed their own brand of eReader; Borders did not.

The author predicts that librarians' role will shift away from collection management, as information becomes more easily accessible, and towards a service role, maintaining both online and physical spaces that allow patrons to collaborate.

One take away message is Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns, which predicts that technology change happens at an increasingly fast rate. He calculated that their will be more technological change in the next 100 years than in the previous 2000. Staying relevant will be more challenging, and the digital divide is also expected to increase. Mobile-based technology and applications have exploded in the past couple years, so those who primarily use a laptop are already behind, not to mention those with limited access to older computers.


Discussion question: What new technologies do you think will be developed in the next 5 years? The next 20 years? How will libraries be able to utilize them?