Running head: TECHOLOGY TRENDS

Technology Trends Sara DeCaro Emporia State University

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS There is no shortage of technology trends in the library world today, so writing a paper that discusses these trends can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are also plenty of informed writers who are willing to share their knowledge of these trends, and who regularly update their

websites and blogs to help the rest of us discover what will help us the most. This paper will look at three of those sites, and some of the technologies they highlight. Marshall Breedings (2013) article was my starting point for this assignment. It was an excellent road map for places to find tech trend information. It is probably only natural, then, that I chose his website, Library Technology Guides (librarytechnology.org) as one of my three sources for technology trends for the purpose of this paper. I did not choose it simply because of Breeding, though. I was very impressed by the wealth of information the website contained. One of my favorite features, a list of the twenty most recent tech industry news articles, was located on the right side of the sites home page. Each article was dated and displayed in chronological order. This made me feel like I was getting the most recent news possible. Library Technology Guides is also home to Breedings blog. This is another important feature of the website in which Breeding shares commentary about new technologies for libraries. Recent posts include a request for participants in a survey about discover technologies, a highlight of library technologies featured at the most recent ALA conference, and an agenda for a panel discussion which also took place at the latest ALA conference. The article discussing new library technologies at ALAs conference, which was published in American Libraries, was particularly informative: for example, I learned through this article that ebooks were a popular tech topic at ALA this year. All ebook offerings are now seen through the lens of ReadersFirst (readersfirst.org), a library initiative with the goal of ensuring that public library users have the

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same open, easy, and free access to ebooks as they do with print books (Breeding, 2013, Ebook lending services, para. 2). Apparently, this organization has made quite an impact on how ebooks are lent through libraries, and technologies at the ALA conference reflected that impact. One ebook company, OverDrive, had adjusted their platform to make it easier to use; Breeding (2013, Ebook lending services, para. 2) noted that they had changed the lending process to just a few clicks. A second source for library technology information that I found engaging was a blog called Tame the Web (tametheweb.com). This is a fascinating blog, chock-full of all kinds of useful information. Its certainly possible to go on and on about items of interest here, such as the article I found about how to get a library job in these economic times, but the focus here is technology. Fortunately, Tame the Web has plenty to say about that, too. Tame the Web is the creation of Michael Stephens, a professor of library and information science at San Jose State University. The About Michael Stephens page on Tame the Web states that the blog seeks to answer three questions: How do we use technology to further the librarys mission? How do we use technology to learn? What are innovative libraries and librarians doing to explore this realm? (Stephens, n.d., Bio, para. 2). The use of the word innovative is the key word. Keeping track of new technologies is part of innovation, so many of the links and blog posts on Tame the Web deal with new technologies; however, it is not just that Stephens identifies them, but that he discusses them and engages the reader, too. That is what makes Tame the Web so useful. Stephens frequently mentions on Tame the Web. In addition to attending conferences and discussing MOOCs, a Hyperlinked Library MOOC Pilot is planned for the fall of 2013

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(Stephens, 2013, #hyperlib MOOC Update, para. 1). A July 17, 2013 post on Tame the Web had a list of anticipated lecturers for the MOOC, and mentioned open and collaborative assignments that would be taking place (Stephens, 2013, #hyperlib MOOC Update, para. 1). MOOCs have been described on other websites as an emerging technology, but Stephens is actually putting this into practice. The MOOC is free of charge, and open to everyone, though one must register for it. A link is provided through Tame the Web (http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/ programs/moocs/mooc-registration-process). It would make sense for the American Library Association (ALA) to have a division devoted to technology trends in libraries; it is called the Library and Information Technology Association, or LITA. Its website says that it educates, serves and reaches out to its members, other ALA members and divisions, and the entire library and information community through its publications, programs and other activities designed to promote, develop, and aid in the implementation of library and information technology (Mission Statement, para. 1). As the name and mission statement of LITA implies, it is an excellent source for discovering emerging library technologies. LITAs Top Tech Trends occurs twice a year as part of each ALA conference. The most recent panel convened in June 2013. A trend that received a great deal of discussion on this panel was privacy. While we may not think of this as a trend in the same way that an iPad is, privacy is a frequently discussed topic, and one that is very much related to technology. The panelists on the most recent Top Tech Trends brought up several ways in which technology is changing privacy. Should a persons face be blurred out if their image is captured by Google Maps? Will

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we know if someone is recording us with Google Glass? Should anyone be able to find out what we are reading based on the ebooks we check out at the library, or buy from Amazon? These are just a few of the ways privacy is potentially changing due to emerging technologies. It was also a topic about which every Top Tech Trends panelist had something to say. These resources are just a few of the many available for information about tech trends in libraries; however, these were chosen because they were especially insightful or engaging. Breedings website demonstrated a great deal of specialized knowledge in the subject area, while Tame the Web was exciting to read and felt very cutting-edge. Top Tech Trends featured panelists that were knowledgeable and was a division of the ALA, which gave it credibility. All of them brought something thought-provoking to the creation of this paper. Fortunately for students, there is no shortage of high quality resources from which to draw information about library technology.

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS References

Breeding, Marshall. (2013, August 6). Enabling Access, Engagement and Efficiency [Web log Comment]. Retrieved from http://librarytechnology.org/blog.pl? ThreadID=259&Blog ID=1 Stephens, Michael (n.d). Bio [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://tametheweb.com/aboutmichael-stephens/ Stephens, Michael. (2013, July 17). #hyperlibMOOC Update:Your upcoming SJSU SLIS MOOC Experience! [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://tametheweb.com/2013/ 07/17/hyperlibmooc-updateyour-upcoming-sjsu-slis-mooc-experience/ (2013, September 8). Top Tech Trends (at the 2013 annual) [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/lita/ttt/