Tag Archives: library trend

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Recap of Minitex ILL Conference

trendsThis year was the 25th anniversary of this annual conference, and a festive atmosphere was definitely in the air. Just when I thought I may need to fetch more caffeine, Lee Rainie took the stage for the opening keynote, which worked better than caffeine! He was brisk and energetic, yet thoughtful about the future of libraries. He admitted libraries (and much of society) is going through a disheartening, disruptive time, and that no one has the playbook yet . He also said we need leaders, that there are declining levels of trust in much of society. Not so much for librarians, who are regarded as friends in most networks, which makes me proud to be a librarian. Some key points I noted:

According to Rainie, there are six big puzzles for us to solve:

  1. What’s the future of personal enrichment, entertainment and knowledge?
  2. What are the future pathways to knowledge?
  3. What’s the future of public technology and community anchor institutions?
  4. What’s the future of learning spaces?
  5. What is the future of attention?
  6. Where do you fit in ALA’s Confronting the Future report? (30 pgs.) According to this report…”In order for libraries to be successful, they must make strategic choices in four distinct dimensions, each consisting of a continuum of choices that lies between two extremes. Collectively, the choices a library makes along each of the four dimensions create a vision that it believes will enable it to best serve its patrons” (see pg. 21 to see the four dimensions)

The program moved on to Katie Birch from OCLC as she dipped her toe into the past and the future of ILL. Interesting factoid: Year to date, When Breath Becomes Air is the most requested OCLC interlibrary loan title!

Participants were able to choose from three breakout session; I chose the Ignite sessions and was not disappointed! I learned lots.

Valerie Horton wrapped up the day with her thought provoking talk, Skating on the Bleeding Edge. She described innovation as the process of discovery. She also encouraged us to accept failure, that it is indeed the norm of experimentation. According to current business literature, employers are looking for people who can say, “I failed and I learned!” She concluded with a few additional facts: The next trend is “messy”, and we have to accept that we don’t know the right answers. Accept messy structures, partnering can be messy and frustrating. And, if you are burnt out and exhausted, you cannot reflect, think well, or innovate!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/lfpv7xn, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Sneak peek at four library tech trends!

Do you have a sense of where library technology is heading in the next few years?

Reading in the Digital AgeIt is always an interesting conundrum to consider which emerging tools and technologies to pay attention to, in order to be ready when the time is right to adopt them! A new ALA publication titled,  The Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know (Facet, 2014) is now available. This publication goes into detail about the eight trends that the authors deem worthy of watching.

Editor Kenneth J. Varnum highlights four of the eight trends in his recent blog post at 4 Technology Trends Every Librarian Needs to Know

Hint: The tags for this post offer a sneak peek of the four trends!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/ldbxhp3, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The State of America's Libraries Report

SOAL14_CVR.inddOn April 13, the American Library Association (ALA) released its report on the 2014 State of America’s Libraries during National Library Week, April 13–19, detailing library trends of the past year. Included in the report are trends associated with academic, public, and school libraries; ebooks and copyright issues; social networking; library construction; legislative issues; and intellectual freedom.

The report has a strong focus on the importance of school libraries.

“More than 90 percent of traditional public schools have a school library, but public schools continue to struggle with the impact of funding cuts. For public school libraries, that means that professional staffing has been targeted for cuts nationwide.

The ALA is on the forefront of efforts to shore up support for school libraries.

“On one hand, budget and testing pressures have led to decisions to eliminate or de-professionalize school libraries,” said Barbara K. Stripling, ALA president. “On the other hand, the increased emphasis on college and career readiness and the integration of technology have opened an unprecedented door to school librarian leadership.”

Stripling and the ALA are undertaking an advocacy campaign for school libraries that sets goals in five critical areas: literacy, inquiry, social and emotional growth, creativity and imagination, and thoughtful use of technology. The task for school librarians, Stripling said, is to fulfill the dream that every school across the country will have an effective school library program

Stripling wrote a really excellent short piece on standing up for school libraries, which gets to the heart of the school library being a place of trust and opportunity.

The full text (80 pgs) of the 2014 State of America’s Libraries report is available at http://tinyurl.com/kpy5ct6

Portions of this post were from the April 14 ALA Press Release