OLA08 Session #1700: Top Tech Trends

Meredith Farkas, Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University
Casey Bisson, Information Architect, Plymouth State University
David Fiander, Digital Services Librarian, University of Western Ontario

Meredith's slides are on her blog here

• the library is everywhere
• recasting the lib as a creative technology lab
• tech and education to do cool stuff like:
• podcasts
• video trailers for books
• letting patrons connect online through the web

David:

• open source ILSs like:
• Evergreen (David is working on this)
• Scriblio
• Koha (most popular)
• Dublin, Ireland, has a nifty portal with lots of moduals which peeps can use (eg like iGoogle) TODO: check it out
• ProQuest has a widget builder
• ***mentioned TBPL's AirPac!

Casey:

• slides are online here
• sophistication (of devices)
• look at Flickr's colour picker (can find pics with a certain colour in them)
• contextualization
• googlemaps + more
• booklists: connect with bookstores
• disintermedication
• more peeps creating
• shorter distance between creator and consumer
• identity and reputation
• deep integration /mass distribution
• comments and contribution

David: from UWO...ProQuest support research that found students thought of FaceBook as a study break, not a study room...but...it is working as a study room at other libraries...you need to KNOW WHO YOUR USERS are, and WHAT THEY WANT, and WHERE they are

Casey: users don't give a damn about you...they have a question and want an answer, or for you to solve their problem

...recurring theme here at OLA08...echoed in BiblioCommons...ME/MY/MINE