Finding the right stuff – Google v libraries – the users choice

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

Elaine FultonDirector

Scottish Library and Information Council and CILIP in Scotland

What might the future look like?

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

What do we need to consider?What is the user of the future going to be like?The challenges public libraries and others face to

compete with search enginesWhat are the unique selling points which libraries

have?How do we reach communities with the right

information?What does the library and information professional

of the future need to provide?SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

Finding the right stuff- creating information literate societyQuality Versus QuantityInformation is free Make do societyGoogle Still Not Indexing Hidden Web URLs (D-

Lib Magazine July/August 2008, Volume 14 Number 7/8 ISSN 1082-9873)

Information behaviour of the Researcher of the Future- UCL/British Library Report, Jan 2008

The future – The Digital Native

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

Next 20 years period of transition

“Luddites”

“Digital Immigrants”

“Digital Natives

“Digitally excluded”

Reality Check – what are the characteristics of digital natives?FT Digital Business Supplement 21/9/2007 They are video gamers with different expectations

about how to learn, work and pursue careers. They are technology literate, but that does not make

the media literate( or information literate). They are content creator and that shapes their notions

about privacy and property. They are product and people rankers and that informs

their notions of propriety. They are multi-taskers often living in a state of

“continuous partial attention”, where the boundary between work and leisure is quite permeable.

The Google Generation Information literacy has not

improved by widening access to technology

Internet research shows that the speed of web searching means there is little time for evaluating content for relevance, accuracy or authority

Young people and others have a poor understanding of their information needs – result is poor search strategies

Faced with a long list of search hits they find it difficult to assess relevance and print it without reading it or worse cut and paste without regard to Copyright, IPR or Plagiarism.

Huge amounts of text turns them off – increasingly click and point

What are the challenges?Power of Google – search, Google booksWikipediaAssumptionsProduct placementPolitics – national v local priorityFundingReducing staff numbersWho cares?

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

What are our unique selling points in this increasingly virtual world?

Staff knowledge of collections, learning resources and global information landscape

Ubiquitous infrastructureInformation mediator/EducatorCollectionsInformation Literacy Skills

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

What do we have?Scottish contextIT infrastructureCAIRNS – Scotland’s Catalogues on stop searchSCONE – Scottish Collections Online – local regional and

global collectionsCultural heritage - Scottish Collections Policy (NLS,

SCURL, SLIC and Heads of PLS)Shared resources through National Procurement – e.g

Know UK, Newspaper

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

What about the staff?Have the staff got the right attitude?Do we really manage them and our

expectations?Do they have the right skills?How do we ensure that they do?What about the profession – cognate

professional skillsSLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

How can public libraries compete with search engines, and should they try? Developing relevant digital content which is user focusedTranslate the physical library experience into a virtual

oneMinimise impact of IT departments within institution and

at user levelEnhanced on-line customer care, net navigator, educatorSupport information literacy programmesChange focus from service being about buildings to being

about the userSLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

How can libraries compete with search engines, and should they try? Interaction between People, content and finding stuff – crowd

sourcingSectoral Networks and collaborationExposing community resources via web, subscription

resources or VLEsVirtual Mitchell http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/vm/Glasgow Digital Library http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/JTORInstitutional repositoriesJISC learning resourcesMandate

Innovation to create engagement and community resources. Services in the hands of the user

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886

So what are you going to do?Staff and workforce developmentDigital contentEngaging communitiesGather evidence of value added and impact on learner.Product Placement – Web2

SLIC: Company Limited by Guarantee/ Registered in Scotland No.129889/Scottish Charity No.SC17886