9 Takeaways for the Future
Librarians and speakers shared successes and
concerns during a futures symposium at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting &
Exhibits in Atlanta. Dozens of people offered ideas, tips, and projects that
showcased a wide variety of future themes for libraries. Here are nine
highlights:
- Entrepreneurship
Getting access to capital, mentoring,
coaching, and workspace needs are key issues that face black and Latina women
starting in tech entrepreneurship. A network of support can help. Using
metrics, says Darlene Gillard of Atlanta’s BIG Accelerator program, can get the
funding faster and helps confirm success.
- Civic engagement and innovation
Amy Koester and Amita Lonial’s “Building
Civic Engagement with a Civic Lab” session covered their experiences with the Civic Lab at Skokie (Ill.) Public
Library, a pop-up library. They highlighted six areas of civic
engagement via microcollections, resource lists, and interactive activities,
like a passive voting wall and postcard writing station, as well as community
conversations with elected officials and others.
- School libraries as global educators
From Skyping with Rube Goldberg’s
granddaughter to facilitating a video conference between a professor from
Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology and a budding middle school ornithology
expert, librarians can open the classroom learning experience to conversations
with established and emerging experts, as speaker Andy Plemmons has. Plemmons,
school library media specialist at David C. Barrow Elementary School in Athens,
Georgia, says he invests time cultivating in-person guests, including
children’s authors and illustrators. He has also experienced the
serendipity of social media—sharing news of what his students are learning in
the school library and having his conversations reach big-name speakers.
- Sustainability
Sustainability expert Rebekkah Smith Aldrich,
coordinator for library sustainability at Mid-Hudson Library System in
Poughkeepsie, New York, says by using a “triple bottom line” test—asking if
something is environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially
equitable—librarians can ensure that the most important bases are covered as
they make decisions about services, buildings, and the community beyond library
walls.
- Virtual reality
Matthew Boyer, codirector of the Digital Media and Learning Labs
at Clemson (S.C.) University, and copresenter Stephen Moysey, codirector of
Clemson’s Center for Geospatial Technologies,
have been working on projects to test whether virtual reality will become the next
content delivery platform. They are interested in using virtual reality to
support immersive, interactive game-based engagement within a contextually rich
learning environment. Virtual reality allows for place-based learning that
moves beyond the traditional field trip.
- Welcoming communities
Several libraries participate in National
Welcoming Week, a project of Welcoming America, which helps bring together
immigrants and US-born residents in a spirit of unity. Welcoming America’s Isha
Lee emphasized that true social innovation requires consideration of the whole
person’s needs, not just his or her perceived economic value or benefit.
- Accessibility
One in four adults will have a disability at
some point in his or her life, which should encourage everyone to view
accessibility as benefiting “us,” not some vaguely defined “them.” Accessible
features like curb cuts and closed captioning expand benefits beyond any single
audience and improve experiences for all. That was the focus of the
presentation by Patrice Johnson of Chicago Public Library, Pat Herndon of the
Georgia Library for Accessible Statewide Services, and Jill Rothstein of New
York Public Library’s Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. A
universal approach develops innovations that integrate and include all.
- Academic tech focus
Jeffrey MartÃn, founder and CEO of honorCode,
a program that aims to integrate coding into the K–12 curriculum, says that
media specialists and librarians play a role in incubating these programs—and
other STEAM programs—and making them successful. He sees them taking on
responsibilities as teachers and instruction partners who stay up on computer
science and technology trends; as information specialists who provide
leadership and expertise in acquiring and evaluating information; and as
program administrators who guide activities and work collaboratively with the
community to define the program and build partnerships.
- 21st-century ethics
San Rafael (Calif.) Public Library Director
Sarah Houghton used the framework of ALA’s Library Bill of Rights to revisit
what librarians say about their own ethics and apply them to current
situations. One rallying point for most libraries is fighting censorship in all
its forms. As professionals look ahead, new technologies like digital rights
management—which allows content creators to “lock” content that can be opened
only with a special digital key—or concepts like net neutrality—which champions
an open internet free from “fast” and “slow” access channels based on cost or
providers—will require professionals to consider their values as a means of
navigation.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan & Co
Upcoming Event | MANLIBNET 17th Annual
International Conference on 15-16 September 2017 at Jaipuria, Noida, India
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