Paul Nieuwenhuysen Vrije Universiteit Brussel

1. 010101010010010110101001001000101111010 Radicaal digitaalin de openbare bibliotheek: de intermediair-bibliotheek?!011010100001010010100100100010101110010 Paul Nieuwenhuysen • Vrije Universiteit Brussel • Information and Library Science, University of Antwerp Belgium Lecture presented at the one-day workshop organised by V.V.B.A.D. Section Public Libraries, 14 November 2003, in EHSAL Brussels, Belgium

2. These slides are available from http://www.vub.ac.be/BIBLIO/nieuwenhuysen/presentations/ (note: BIBLIO and not biblio)

3. The library as intermediary Writer / Author / Creator / Sender Primary sources / systems: mainly Journal articles / Books / Electronic mail / Online sources /... Reader /User / Receiver Secondary sources / systems: mainly Reference works (printed, CD-ROM, online) Libraries (offering books, library catalogues, access to Internet…)

4. The library as intermediary • Printed books and journals become relatively less important in libraries, when access to information sources becomes more and more feasible through the Internet and the WWW.

5. The library as intermediary Classical libraries Hybrid libraries! Digital libraries? the librarian actingmore as as intermediary

6. - contents - summary - structure- overview of this lecturePart 1 • WHY? The framework: Evolution and trends towards digital libraries • WHAT?Activities in hybrid libraries • WHERE?From physical, local libraries to more virtual libraries • WHEN?When should libraries adapt to a more digital world?

7. - contents - summary - structure- overviewof this lecturePart 2 - contents - summary - structure of this lecturePart 2 • HOW?Tools and methods for digital libraries and librarians • HOW MUCH?How much does it cost? • WHO?Desirable skills of today’s librarians • FOR WHOM?Who uses digital services? • CONCLUSIONS

8. WHY? The framework: Evolution towards digital libraries and future trends

9. Libraries: evolution to what? • Let us have a look at important functions – key functions – of librariesand consider how these evolve.

10. Libraries: evolution of key functions? • Collection development (hard copy documents) • Cataloguing + classification (hard copy documents) • User services: reference, user education… • Providing a physical, local meeting place • Conservation / preservation (hard copy documents)  ?  ?  ? • ?  ?

11. Libraries: effects of more ICT • The fast evolution to powerful and affordable applications of information and communication technology (ICT) has several effects on libraries and information centers.

12. Libraries: effects of more ICT 1. More applications of ICT to manage classical, printed, hard-copy books and journals ordering of documents; cataloguing of documents; online public access catalogue; administration concerning users; lending; interlending; financial management; communication by email; WWW sites of libraries...

13. Libraries: effects of more ICT 2. Providing access not only to hard-copy documents, but also to digital, computer- and network-based information sources.

14. The digital/electronic/virtual library: scheme Structures, practices, and methodsof physical libraries and archives Digital / electronic / virtuallibrary Computing power that is decreasing in price Communication capabilitiesof electronic networking

15. Libraries and information centres: future trends If it is not on the Internet, available free of charge, then it does “not exist”.

16. Libraries and information centres: future trends • More information delivery directly from producer to end-user, even without involvement of a library or information centre as intermediary.

17. WHAT? Activities and management of hybrid libraries

18. Libraries and information centres: evolution of their roles • Collection development (hard copy documents) • 1. Applying more and more ICT in collection development of hard copy documents 2. Acquiring access to digital information+ conversion of important local documents to digital format (computer files) and making these accessible through the Internet

19. Libraries and information centres: evolution of their roles • Organizing access to hard-copy documents: • cataloguing • classification • physical placement • 1. Applying more and more ICT to organize access and to manage hard copy documents • 2. Organizing access to digital information, which includes providing access to computers connected to the Internet

20. Libraries and information centres: evolution of their roles • User services: reference, user education…  + Offering services in a computer-network environmentOPAC available throught the Internet; WWW site of the library; creating and offering guides to information sources, and in particular to locally relevant information; virtual reference services;…

21. Libraries and information centres: evolution of their roles • Providing a physical, local meeting place  + Presence on the WWW, accessible from everywhereThis offers further possibilities like more or less automatic personalisation of the services, depending on the user’s address, age, expressed interests, previous activities related to the library services.

22. Libraries and information centres: evolution of their roles • Conservation / preservation (hard copy documents)  + Conservation of digital documentsor ensuring continuous access to digital documents

23. “Collection development”: hard copy + digital User / Reader Collection development Library or information centre Hard copy Electronic, digital resources

24. “Collection development”: hard copy + digital L User / Reader Searching Hard copy Electronic, digital resources

25. Organizing access to information in hybrid libraries J User / Reader Searching + using Hard copy + electronic, digital resourcesin an integrated, hybrid library

26. Organizing access to information in libraries: the problem • Users should be guided in finding their way through the maze, through the labyrinth that is formed by all available information systems and services.

28. Integrating access to all types of information Web site created, offered, and maintained by a library or information centre 1 or several catalogues / databasescreated, offered, and maintained by a library or information centre

29. Current awareness servicesprovided by libraries • The incoming flow of new available information is huge. • The potential user/reader has limited time. • So information centres can provide a current awareness service (alerting service):based on the interests of the user, the library sends the user • descriptions of new information sources (plus an explanation of how to obtain the full version) • OR directly the full version

30. Organizing access to information in information centres: user studies • A few web site users should be selected from various categories of the user community and the way they work with your web site should be studied. The observation of their behaviour and the comments by those users can be useful and interesting to improve your web site.

31. Organizing access to information: the value of information? • What is the value of information sources?Which price is reasonable and acceptable for access to information sources? • These are simple questions but the answers are difficult.Debates on these questions by all stakeholders are going on almost continuously.

32. Organizing access to information: the value of structured information? • A related but different question is:What is the value of a good guide to information?Which price is reasonable and acceptable for ORGANISING / STRUCTURING information sources? • How do decision makers see this?

33. WHERE? From local, physical libraries to more virtual, invisible information centers

34. Libraries and information centres: future trend = becoming invisible • Conservation of hard copy documents becomes a smaller task in comparison with other activities in libraries. • Services offered by libraries become more virtual, less clearly visible.Is the ideal library invisible?Who wants to pay for an invisible library?

35. Picture of the future library?

36. From local, physical libraries to invisible information centers • From visible, human librarians to more invisible information experts?Who wants to pay for invisible librarians? ?

37. The physical location of the library becomes less important • The physical location of documents is an irrelevant concept when the documents are based on computer-networks and the Internet in particular. • The physical location of information intermediaries of a library is not important anymore, when reference services and guidance is offered by information intermediaries / experts through the Internet, by using an application like WWW or email. “Virtual reference services”

38. From local libraries to regional information services • When physical location is less important, then besides local, physical libraries, an important contribution can be made by more regional, international, virtual, digital, invisible libraries and information services that focus • on a particular information subject, or • on a particular user community • Organizing such a service by further cooperation among classical libraries is one possible scenario. • However, such services do not have to be associated anymore with more traditional, classical libraries.

39. Local, physical libraries can still be attractive • Physical libraries can of course remain attractive when they offer • many classical documents that are not available through the Internet • an interesting, attractive space for contemplation, study, entertainment, self-development, meetings… • Of course the library budget is limited and can be spent only once in a hybrid library: either on the physical library, either on the digital library

40. How to make hybrid libraries “attractive places”? • Physical libraries can be made attractive and usable by good architects / designers. • Digital libraries can be made attractive and usable by good information architects / web designers. Creating a good interface user  informationis crucial.

41. WHEN? When should libraries adapt to a more digital world?

42. When to adapt to the changing information landscape? • Yesterday • Today • Now • Tomorrow • Always • Permanently • Continuously because “Change is the only constant”

43. HOW? Tools and methods for today’s libraries and librarians

44. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Integrated library management system, including • databases related to documents, users, other data • online pubic access catalogue(s) • integration with related computer programs • integration with Internet • integration with the WWW site of the library

45. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Internet + WWW and electronic mail as applications

46. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Secured computers for access by the public to Internet-based information resources

47. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Portal software to integrate access to distributed databases in one search action, as far as possible, in spite of technical difficulties, such as differences in the applied • Internet application protocols for communication and retrieval (telnet, HTTP, Z39.50, OAI-MHP…) • metadata schemes in the databases to improve retrieval (classifications, thesaurus systems, ontologies…)

48. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • OpenURL resolving software to guide users to the most suitable sources that are appropriate for the specific library or specific user, for instance to cope with the multiple-copy problem (such as SFX software from Ex-Libris or V-link software from VUBIS-GEAC)

49. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Software for current awareness services, that includes functions to manage interest profiles of users. • Ideally this is well integrated with • the Internet, • e-mail, • the WWW, • the integrated library management system

50. Tools and methods for today’s librarian • Electronic learning environment softwareto assist users in their personal education and growth?