Posts Tagged ‘Libraries’
Librarians: from collections to communities (David Lankes at ILI 2012)
R. David Lankes is a proud and passionate supporter of libraries. In his book, The Atlas of New Librarianship, David outlines his vision for a ‘new librarianship’ which focuses on knowledge creation and learning…
In his keynote presentation at Internet Librarian International 2012, he “will be talking about how our libraries should act as platforms for community learning and innovation. Our spaces, our services, and our collections are tools that a good librarian orchestrates to allow the community to dream and achieve its aspirations“…
Instead of containing the service oriented expertise of librarians in a building or focused on a collection, librarians can now go out into the community (a city, a university, a school, a business) and engage in their original mission of improving society through facilitating knowledge creation. I get very excited when I see the brilliance and skills of librarians unconstrained by manual processes, and historical hold overs…
David says: “I believe in the future of libraries… I think it is bright. However it requires the profession to shape that future and communicate to the world that we are powerful, on their side, and innovators“
Extracts from:
Internet Librarian International: http://www.internet-librarian.com/2012/
STM journals: the end of Big Deal is approaching!
A very interesting annual report by Allen Press shows how some new trends on the american publishing industry could definitely change the business models of Big STM publishers…
Some findings:
“Budget cuts have become inevitable, forcing publishers to restrategize and libraries to make even tougher purchasing decisions. (…)
2012 journal prices increased but not at the levels seen in prior years… (…)
Pressure on Publishers:
- Publishers are also faced with the ongoing erosion of their subscription bases. Some institutions simply cannot make ends meet when it comes to their shrinking or flat budgets…
- Publishers are also struggling to get the advertising dollars they once did to help financially support their publications. (…) Online advertising has not proved to bring in revenue equitable to that of its print counterpart
- Increasing competition, especially from new Open Access and mega journals, has added to the struggle of publishers as well
Despite implementing cost-cutting actions, many libraries continue to struggle to keep up with increasing serials pricing. Libraries do not have the resources to continue to exist in a world of ever-increasing prices, nor can publishers survive without positive cash flow. (…)
The results indicated that in order to achieve budget goals, 78% of librarian respondents will likely cut print
journals for the next fiscal year and 86% of librarian respondents are likely to move print plus online subscriptions to online only. In 2010, approximately 27% of publishers surveyed reported a decline in their print business greater than 10%. (…)
Mobile access:
Publishers need to be responding to the surge of such technology by making their content readily available on mobile devices. (…) Mobile technology allows library customers to connect to their local library’s virtual catalog for audiobooks and eBooks. Scientific journal content is also becoming more available with mobile options such as SciVerse Mobile from Elsevier and EBSCOhost Mobile from EBSCO Publishing. Opportunities to have information anytime and anywhere are constantly growing. (…)
We are now in the middle of a new transition where users demand the ability to consume content anywhere and at all times. Online access is a necessity rather than a novelty or add-on. Content is still key, but it is moving mobile. Libraries, publishers, and users can all benefit, but only if pricing becomes sustainable. (…)
New models suggestion:
We live in a time where library patrons want immediate access to even more journal content, and libraries are searching for ways to meet these demands with even tighter budgets. Thus, pay-per-view (PPV) or transactional access may be the way of the future for some as an alternative to Big Deals. (…) It’s not seen as a replacement, but rather as a supplement to other existing models. Traditional subscriptions still make sense and are the most cost-effective choice for high-usage title (…)
Another emerging option is the read-only short-term loan or article rental. It has a low cost and offers 24-hour access; however, it is not available for download or print, and each use equals another payment… (…)
The End of Big Deal:
In fact, business models have changed tremendously since the arrival of consortial purchasing and the Big Deal. Now, however, libraries are looking for different ways to meet user demands for information in the digital realm. As current methods of selling content become outdated, it may be necessary for publishers to reevaluate their business models(…) …, analysts are suggesting that the end of the Big Deal is approaching.
Open Access:
Librarians and researchers are pushing for a move toward Open Access (OA) because of ever-increasing prices, and it is has become a practical channel for distributing scholarly information. But publishers believe their current business models are a must to maintain the quality of their products, and they have concerns about how to develop a sustainable business model to support OA. (…)
Solution: improve the content
With Big Deals and smaller publishers struggling to compete, the focus should be on content. (…) Researchers read articles, not journals. Every article needs to be significant and contribute to driving usage of your journal.
Read the full report at:
Tillery, Kodi. 2012 study of subscription prices for scholarly society journals: society journals pricing trends and industry overview. White paper, Allen Press, 2012. 19 p. Available for free from: http://allenpress.com/system/files/pdfs/library/2012_AP_JPS.pdf
The future of research libraries
Interesting predictionsby the ARL:
“Although the purpose of academic and research library collections remains the same – to support the creation and dissemination of new knowledge – the nature of collections is moving away from ‘local’ to collaborative and multi-institutional. New forms of scholarship are transforming user expectations for broad, barrier free collection discovery and access. Libraries must transform their approaches to meet new user demands.”
Some suggestions:
Key findings – the research environment
- Global/interdisciplinary research will grow
- Open content will proliferate
Key findings – the future of libraries
- Researchers must understand intellectual property frameworks – libraries can provide support
- Other new roles for research libraries include: digital preservation and data management experts and as supporters helping researchers collaborate even more
- There will also be roles to support the open content movement
- Metrics about value to the research community must be improved
- Resources will increasingly be allocated to the development of tools
- There will continue to be moves to providing just in time services rather than building just in case collections
Reported by the Information Today Europe blog, Research libraries in the 21st century, 21 may 2012, Available from: http://www.infotodayeurope.com/2012/05/22/reserach-libraries-in-the-21st-century/ [Accessed 23 May 2012]
US: medical students do not use cell phones or Facebook to engage with Libraries
Study:
Even though there is a pervasive use of the Internet, cell phones and social networking, the majority of students surveyed do not readily identify them as a means to access databases, the library catalog, or to retrieve full-text articles on demand or on the go.
The results of this study provide ample evidence that many of our students are accessing the Internet using various devices. Ninety-seven percent of them access library resources remotely, mostly using their laptops and other computers. Only 17 percent of them use their cell phones to access library catalog and subscription databases resources remotely.
Salisbury, L. (et al.). Science and Technology Undergraduate Students’ Use of the Internet, Cell Phones and Social Networking Sites to Access Library Information. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Spring 2012. Available from: http://www.istl.org/12-spring/refereed3.html [Accessed 23rd of May 2012]
“The book will never die”
Good marketing by Springer, announcing the Frankfurt Book Fair:
http://www.springer.com/bookfair2011/Invitation.html
See also:
Putting the book back into the Library,
by Thomson-Reuters about the new Book Citation Index in the WoS
http://wokinfo.com/products_tools/multidisciplinary/webofscience/
Future technologies for Librarians
What will be the future technologies to be apllied in libraries?
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One year or less:
- Cloud Computing
- Mobiles
- Tablet Computing
- Open Content
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two-three years
- Learning Analytics
- Semantic Applications
- New Scholarship
- Semantic Applications
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four-five years
- Augmented Reality
- Collective Intelligence
- Telepresence
- Smart Objects
Kelly, Brian. What’s on the technology horizon. Implications for librarians. UK Web Focus, Online, the 15th of September 2011.
http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/whats-on-the-technology-horizon-implications-for-librarians/
To read: Do you Library 2.0?
The Web 2.0 business case for public libraries: round-up and interviews in this new book published by Chandos…
Berube, Linda. Do you Web 2.0? Public libraries and social networking. Cambridge: Chandos, 162 p. ISBN 1 84334 436 X
Table of Contents
Top SharePoint web sites
http://www.topsharepoint.com/topics is a directory of more than 1,600 sharepoint sites rated by readers.
Among them:
- Pfizer UK: http://www.pfizer.co.uk
- BMS: http://www.bms.com/pages/default.aspx
- Library of Congress: http://myloc.gov/pages/default.aspx
- CILIP: http://www.cilip.org.uk/Pages/default.aspx
- Auckland libraries: http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/Pages/home.aspx
etc.
