Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies
Introduction
Information organizations have continuously adapted to changing environments and technology in their history (Abram, 2022). Technology filters through almost every aspect of libraries (Breeding, 2022). Libraries in particular have an important role in identifying and implementing technological changes, particularly in ensuring services and resources are kept up to date to meet the changing needs of their communities. Libraries have continued to adapt and evolve as leaders in their communities and will continue to do so through emerging technologies (Abram, 2022). Constant changes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to force libraries to keep up with their technological services and resources (Kroski, 2022). Historically, libraries have been advocates for the preservation and expansion of information access including for the public to be a place for communities to use and experiment with new technologies (Stephens, 2022). “The constantly turning cycles of technology mean that information organizations need to continually adapt to changes including technological trends” (Breeding, 2022, p. 343). Library users benefit from library staff planning, knowledge, and skills so it is important to keep technology-focused skills up to date (King, 2018). Information organizations act as community change agents and drive community vitality through embracing changes (Abram, 2022). To stay on top of emerging technologies and ensure the information needs of communities are met, libraries need to know how to identify, utilize, and evaluate technology to ensure success.
Identifying Technology
Technology is a constantly evolving landscape where individuals and organizations need to be diligent at staying up to date with new trends and technologies. Abrams (2022) warns libraries should focus on being more proactive than reactive to ensure they get in front of the current trends to be able to better adapt to change. It is important and beneficial to understand innovation cycles to better understand what to expect (King, 2018). For instance, we are still in the digital revolution cycle, but staying on top of consumer innovation cycles can help libraries and individuals understand the upcoming trends (King, 2018). Ways to identify technological trends are through trend watching and through environmental scanning and strategic planning.
Trend Watching
One of the best ways to stay ahead of trends is to participate in trend-watching. Many organizations and individuals are active trend watchers who write about their findings such as the Pew Research Center, the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries, and the Library Journal’s Digital Shift to name a few (Abram, 2022; & King, 2018). King (2018) also recommends that libraries and LIS professionals trend watch outside of the LIS profession to see advancements in other areas that may eventually lead to a change in the information profession. It is important to explore opportunities and embrace risk when able but to also know how to differentiate between a trend and a fad to mitigate failure (Abram, 2022). While failure is not a bad thing, and a lot can be learned from it, mitigating costs is important for libraries to continue to embrace new technology. It can be a good strategy to embrace technological trends that will positively affect the library community specifically through resources and services that open information access to more people. Stephens (2022) warns libraries to be careful in trend spotting and apply the tenets of librarianship along with an informed understanding of the impact of emerging trends on the community.
Environmental Scanning and Strategic Planning
Another way to identify technology is through developing a strategic plan to build goals and objectives for technological initiatives (King, 2018). It is critical to understand the community and the organizational goals and realities, such as economic context, before implementing a new technology. Once a potential technological trend has been spotted and the library is interested in implementing change, it is best to consider whether it is a good fit for the organization. Strategic planning helps information organizations anticipate and respond to change (Abram, 2022). “Lasting trends will likely have correlation between the goals and objectives of their library” (Lysiak, 2020, p. 136). One of the best ways to understand the community is through an environmental scan, which can provide key insights such as community demographics, market needs, and competitive intelligence (Kroski, 2022). Environmental scans are an important component of strategic planning and aligning a strategic initiative with a new technology is a critical step in identifying and working toward implementing a new trend (Abram, 2022). “One of the first steps in identifying new technology is considering how it will fit into the organization’s larger strategy and to develop a plan for how it will be implemented and maintained” (Kroski, 2022, p. 144).
Using Technology
Knowing how to implement and use technology is an important skill in the LIS profession. Information professionals need to develop leadership skills necessary for the library to thrive in this ever-changing environment. It is important for library leadership to understand the time commitment and workload changes correlated with implementing new technology, specifically with training (Lysiak, 2020). Librarians and LIS professionals, especially those working directly with the new technology, need to be formally trained to best assist all community users. It is recommended for LIS professionals to continuously seek educational opportunities to stay on top of technological advancements (King, 2018). Some prominent emerging technologies used at libraries include virtual services such as storytime, programming, and reference; social media marketing, Open Educational Resources (OER), advanced learning and creation spaces such as maker spaces, and virtual instruction services.
Communication is a key component of integrating technology and getting library staff to use new technology. Considerable effort, buy-in, and sustainability measures need to be in place to assist LIS professionals with using technology (Lysiak, 2020). The most important skill an LIS professional can have is the willingness to be open to new developments and adapt to new roles that will better suit the library community’s needs. “Library professionals must constantly study how information services are discovered, accessed, and used to better help their communities” (Stephens, 2022, p. 232). Lysiak (2020) emphasizes that LIS professionals do not have to be experts in technology, but need to have a fundamental understanding of existing in new areas to connect users to the changing information landscape. A good start to using technology can be through a piloting program or partnership with other libraries or institutional departments to mitigate cost and risk (Breeding, 2022).
Evaluating Technology
It is difficult to assess the outcome of new technological implementation in libraries without a good evaluation process. Technologies can be successful or they can be failures, but LIS professionals need to understand how to assess what success looks like and whether they should keep funding this service or project. Depending on the type of technology used, a simple program assessment tool or usage statistics evaluation can show whether the technology is utilized by library users. When libraries take a risk at implementing new technology that is a fad more than a trend, they can use these warning signs to determine the technology’s value. These warning signs include a service that stops being updated, the use of a service being diminished, and technology that is just too difficult to use (Lysiak, 2020). King (2018) recommends using a process review to evaluate. Conducting a process review is a four-step process with step one being an information-gathering stage through an evaluation tool to determine the positives and negatives of the technology; step two is a feedback stage where the library creates a set of focused questions to ask through interviews, focus groups, and surveying; step three is the step where all the negative feedback gets ranked into a list of prioritization; and step four is the process for the library to plan for the next steps including what can be done to fix the listed issues depending on time and available budget and resources (King, 2018). Evaluating technology is an important step in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the technology and the library staff’s ability to provide it for their library community. The most important aspect of the evaluation stage is to get user statistics and feedback to ensure the technology is useful to them and assists in meeting their information needs.
Evidence
Info 200 Blog #7 - Emerging Technologies and the Online Book Nerd Community
My first piece of evidence is a blog post written for Info 200 Information Communities. This link takes you to my iSchool blog site, which then provides a link to the infographic I created. This post displays my ability to use current and emerging technology. The goal of this assignment was to create an infographic that discussed what type of emerging technology our information community utilizes and how it affects them. The information community I focused on is the online book nerd community. I created an infographic through Venngage that showcases the various technologies that online book nerds use. This includes how they use reading devices such as smartphones and reading tools like tablets, and the type of social media they use focusing specifically on the communities of BookTok and BookTube which are primary technological resources for my community. I also discuss digital literacy tools, some of which are provided by libraries, to assist readers in meeting their information needs. This evidence shows my understanding of various emerging technologies that an information community uses and my ability to create an infographic through an emerging technology.
Info 246 - Prezi with Audio Assignment
My second piece of evidence is a presentation created for Info 246 Information Technology Tools and Applications - Advanced - Web 2.0 and Social Media. This piece of evidence is a document that provides a link to the presentation and a list of references, which was the requested submission format. This assignment was to create a presentation using Prezi, a new presentation technology, to display a social media application I have not used before, Tumblr, and how this tool meets community needs at a particular library. I chose to use the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) Library. In this presentation, I discussed the library setting, including various demographics of the CSN community, and aligned it with the demographics of users of Tumblr. This assignment ensured that we had a full understanding of this social media tool including pros and cons to be able to effectively discuss how it can be utilized at our chosen library. This evidence showcases my ability to use emerging technologies, such as Prezi, and to research, train myself, and understand a social media platform and how it can align with a library community’s information needs.
Info 254 - LibGuide Assignment
My third piece of evidence is a LibGuide created for Info 254 Information Literacy and Learning. This piece of evidence is a document that provides a link to the LibGuide and a reflection statement, which was the requested submission format. The goal for this assignment was to create an online research guide that will teach a person how to use a library’s catalog interface, in this instance, I chose to use CSN Library and its OneSearch interface. This assignment displays my ability to use current and emerging technology, LibGuide, and how its interface allowed me to insert my instruction information. In this assignment, I had to create ten different videos of instruction, post step-by-step directions below the video, and provide written explanations regarding that specific feature. Throughout this assignment process, I learned the Springshare Software interface, how LibGuides works, and the full control it provides for the creator of the guide. This evidence shows my understanding and knowledge of using an emerging technology, Springshare’s LibGuide, often used by academic libraries to showcase various instructional videos for a user to more easily search for information through the OneSearch catalog.
Conclusion
As a future academic librarian, I will continue to use my skills and technological knowledge to identify, use, and evaluate emerging technologies. I will continue to seek out professional development opportunities that allow me to understand and learn new technologies and will ensure I am reading through trend forecasts and reports to ensure library users are getting the best services and resources they need to fulfill their needs. I will also look at the ALA and ACRL websites to stay up to date on the topic of emerging technologies in relation to academic libraries.
References
Abram, S. (2022). The transformative information landscape. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information Services Today (3rd ed., pp. 27-37). Rowman & Littlefield.
Breeding, M. (2022). Managing technology. Tunon, J. (2022). Information intermediation and reference services. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information Services Today (3rd ed., pp. 342-357). Rowman & Littlefield.
King, D. L. (2018). How to stay on top of emerging technology trends for libraries. Library Technology Reports, 54(2), 1-38.
Kroski, E. V. (2022). Virtual resources and services. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information Services Today (3rd ed., pp. 143-152). Rowman & Littlefield.
Lysiak, L. (2020). 20th-century innovations: Librarians, trend-watching, and the warning signs of fads. Pennsylvania Libraries, 8(2), 130-137. https://doi.org/10.5195/palrap.2020.232
Stephens, M. (2022). Hyperlinked libraries. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information Services Today (3rd ed., pp. 229-239). Rowman & Littlefield.