speakers: Mike Ridley, Donna Scheeder, & Jim Peterson (moderated by Jane Dysart)
Ridley sees his job as leveraging information and economics to move the institution forward. Scheeder combines information management and technology to support their users. Peterson is from a small, rural library system where he manages all of the IT needs. (regarding his director: “I’m the geek, she’s the wallet.”)
Ridley
“I just want to remind you that if you think my comments are a load of crap, that’s a good thing.” Mike Ridley, referencing yesterday’s keynote about the hidden treasure of bat guano in libraries.
Information professionals have ways of thinking about how we do what we do, but our user populations have different perspectives. The tribal identities can be challenging when it comes to communicating effectively.
The information age is over. We’ve done that. But we’re still hanging on to it, even though everyone is in the information business. We need to leave that metaphor behind.
This is the age of imagination. What can we do differently? How will we change the rules to make a better world?
Open organizations are the way to go. Command and control organizations won’t get us to where we need to be in this age of imagination. We need to be able to fail. We are completely ignorant of how this will play out, and that opens doors of possibilities that wouldn’t otherwise be there.
Scheeder
It’s challenging to balance the resource needs of diverse user groups. You can add value to information by deeply understanding your users, your resources, and the level of risk that is acceptable.
There’s a big movement towards teleworking in the government. This can change your culture and the way you deliver services. Also, the proliferation of mobile devices among the users creates challenges in delivering content to them.
There’s a constant push and pull among the disciplines to get what they want.
Finally, security requirements make outside collaboration difficult. They want to be open, but they also have to protect the assets they were entrusted with.
Peterson
We all have computers, servers, and patrons, so under the hood we’re all the same.
The ability that IT has to cut power consumption costs can really help you out. Technology upgrades will increase productivity and decrease energy costs. In general, if it’s generating heat, it’s wasting electricity. Open source software can save on those costs, particularly if you have tech support that can manage it.
IT is more than just the geek you call when you have a tech problem. We’re here to help you save money.
Dysart’s questions
What’s the future of libraries?
Scheeder: The screen is the library now, so the question is where do we want the library. The library should be where people have their “dwell time.”
Ridley: The internet is going to get so big that it will disappear as a separate entity. Libraries will be everywhere, no matter what you’re doing. The danger is that libraries may disappear, so we need to think about value in that sphere.
Peterson: Libraries of the future are going to be most valuable as efficient information providers.
Tips for financing resources?
Peterson: Show a solid business model for the things you need.
Scheeder: Figure out how the thing you want to do aligns with the greater good of the organization. Identify how the user experience will improve. Think like the decision-makers and identify the economic reality of the organization.
Ridley: Prefers “participant” to “user”. Make yourself visible to everyone in your organization. Bridge the gap between tribes.
Anything else?
Peterson: If we don’t talk to our legislators then we won’t have a voice and they won’t know our needs.
Scheeder: Information professionals have the opportunity to maximize content to be finable by search engines, create taxonomy, and manage the digital lifecycle. We need to do better about preserving the digital content being created every moment.
Ridley: Go out and hire someone like Peterson. We need people who can understand technology and bridge the divide between IT and users.
