Some of them could be implemented quite quickly with minimum fuss - Flickr, Twitter, Delicious.
Others would need a bit more work - Wikis, LibraryThing, online videos, podcasts.
They all require a committment from management to dedicating staff hours to these technologies.
I'd love to see all of the technologies we covered in this program implemented in our libraries.
I'd love to see iPads in each of our libraries, with staff roving the floor and answering customer queries on the spot.
I'd love to be using Wikis, videos and podcasts with the Teacher Librarian to better connect with the students.
I'd love us all to have Twitter and Facebook active on a PC all the time, to respond to customer comments and queries within minutes, not days, not weeks.
I'd love us to be connecting with the community with videos and podcasts.
These technologies take time - we can't just assume that because it is "technology" that it is easy and quick and can be an "add on" to what staff are already doing. If it is important to the future of libraries - and I believe it is - then we should be making the time now to implement them.
We are all about information - and these technologies are how our customers are beginning to expect they can get it.
We don't have to force every staff member to get involved. But when we find staff that are enthusiastic we need to give them the time and tools to get this happening!
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| Gutenberg Press, by Andrew Plumb, 1 April 2006, on Flickr |
Your positive desire to embrace these technologies in the libraries is just great
ReplyDeleteMore specifically, libraries are about the "retrieval" of information, and thus we can use these new tools to better access the information required by our clients.
ReplyDeleteYour picture of the Gutenberg Press made me think of how the new technologies are depriving us of many of our senses. For me there is little joy in the coldness of a flat screen, no matter how much information it conveys.
ReplyDeleteNice to see all this enthusiasm for the new technology - we need it to contrast those of us who find it more of a struggle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your "I'd Love" statements It doesn't seem so hard to implement - so why aren't libraries doing so?
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