Friday, February 25, 2005
Living In A Transformative Age
In my post on "A Contrast of Librarians", I mentioned this Library Journal - The Google Opportunity article that focuses on how libraries can maintain relevancy in the Information Age of Google. With so much information online and accessible by increasingly powerful search engines, it seems all one needs is a computer and internet connection to access almost any information anywhere at anyime. The author, the President of the Canadian Library Association, does not hide from the threat posed to the traditional library mode of operation. Instead he embraces the new technologies and shows how to leverage the momentum of commercial information technology to the advantage of the library. Call it a demonstration of intellectual judo; or of a flexible management strategy that bends the organization to harness the oncoming forces and transforms itself in the procees. For it is library transformation that he advocates - to take advantage of the new technologies by reassessing and redefining one's objectives and organization in terms of client needs.
This article, also in Library Journal - Everything I Need To Know I Learned Online , discusses the advantages and uses of Online communities in terms of collaborative efforts among libraries and between libraries and the communities which they serve. The author, a consultant and the Community Manager for Webjunction.org, recognizes the trepidation with which some view the new technologies; and then shows how to take advantage of them for collaborative efforts that help librarians do better those things that are at the core of their profession. Importantly, these collaborations need to engage non-library information service providers. You could call it sharing the load to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts; or a flexible management strategy of 'ad hoc' partnering - a tactic that technology industry competitors use to form specific-focus teams to win and conduct very large projects. Interestingly, the auther uses a small rural Texas town and library as the backdrop for her article.
These articles offer good insights to guide the evolution of library services in our rural communities; both by confirming the value of some of our initiatives and by suggesting other promissing avenues. But, there is a more important point here : as a technology (information, in this case) becomes pervasive and ubiquitious, it allows communities to change dramatically what and how they do things; and that forces existing institutions (e.g. libraries) to change and reinvent themselves to continue serving their communities and clients. This is one facet of the transformation to an information society; and, whether we choose to lead, adapt, or drift along, we are involved.
I believe we are living in a Transformative Age in which there will be major changes to our domestic social structures and international relationships as well as to the interactions of technology and society. In many ways, the information services transformation is easy to see and the least controversial. I think the Iraq war, as part of the greater Mid-East initiative (or in that ugly inaccurate phrase - the War on Terror), is the initial phase or catalyst for a transformation of our global strategy, policies and relationships; and that the social security debate has a similar role in the transformation of our domestic policies and social structures from a basic presumption (or mindset) of entitlement and external care to one of opportunity and personal responsibility. These transformations will not progress linearly, calmly, or predictably; and compromises are more likely than complete (black to white) changes. But I suspect they will be the defining characteristic of the next decade. That should make for interesting times and some lively discussions. Of course, it raises the question about the old Chinese admonition "May you live in interesting times." - is it curse or blessing?
This article, also in Library Journal - Everything I Need To Know I Learned Online , discusses the advantages and uses of Online communities in terms of collaborative efforts among libraries and between libraries and the communities which they serve. The author, a consultant and the Community Manager for Webjunction.org, recognizes the trepidation with which some view the new technologies; and then shows how to take advantage of them for collaborative efforts that help librarians do better those things that are at the core of their profession. Importantly, these collaborations need to engage non-library information service providers. You could call it sharing the load to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts; or a flexible management strategy of 'ad hoc' partnering - a tactic that technology industry competitors use to form specific-focus teams to win and conduct very large projects. Interestingly, the auther uses a small rural Texas town and library as the backdrop for her article.
These articles offer good insights to guide the evolution of library services in our rural communities; both by confirming the value of some of our initiatives and by suggesting other promissing avenues. But, there is a more important point here : as a technology (information, in this case) becomes pervasive and ubiquitious, it allows communities to change dramatically what and how they do things; and that forces existing institutions (e.g. libraries) to change and reinvent themselves to continue serving their communities and clients. This is one facet of the transformation to an information society; and, whether we choose to lead, adapt, or drift along, we are involved.
I believe we are living in a Transformative Age in which there will be major changes to our domestic social structures and international relationships as well as to the interactions of technology and society. In many ways, the information services transformation is easy to see and the least controversial. I think the Iraq war, as part of the greater Mid-East initiative (or in that ugly inaccurate phrase - the War on Terror), is the initial phase or catalyst for a transformation of our global strategy, policies and relationships; and that the social security debate has a similar role in the transformation of our domestic policies and social structures from a basic presumption (or mindset) of entitlement and external care to one of opportunity and personal responsibility. These transformations will not progress linearly, calmly, or predictably; and compromises are more likely than complete (black to white) changes. But I suspect they will be the defining characteristic of the next decade. That should make for interesting times and some lively discussions. Of course, it raises the question about the old Chinese admonition "May you live in interesting times." - is it curse or blessing?
