final session, some thoughts

Just walked thru the poster session and had a chance to spend some time with Don Albrecht, who leads Systems at Colorado State University. Don and Jennifer Kutzik, who also works in CSU Systems, did a poster on library systems operations survey data, comparing 1999 and 2007 data. I completed this survey during the fall of this year (which consisted of a print survey and a lengthy phone interview). One data point that stands out is the number of servers being managed by library systems units, which has dramatically increased for most libraries since 1999. I don't see this as a strength; in our case, we need to consolidate services onto a smaller number of reliable, vendor-supported servers.

Attending Jeremy Frumkin's (of Oregon State University) closing session address; I worked with Jeremy during the IMLS Western Waters Digital Library work. The key need he identifies is to explore the needs of next generation users, and to build services that meet these needs. He spent quite a bit of time reviewing LibraryFind, an open source metasearch application that includes a built in OpenURL resolver and a caching system to support faster searching. For OSU's application, LibraryFind is placed in an extremely prominent position on the page. Note that the current version of LibraryFind is 0.8.2; one point made by Jeremy is the need for libraries to follow the path of Google and other web 2.0 application developers and share applications which are still at a beta status. This is consistent with a theme that I heard in several sessions...libraries need to be less conservative in using and allocating resources for information technology to meet service needs.

Jeremy described the iTunes-Starbucks partnership and encouraged libraries to develop analogous services for users within the physical space of library buildings. (The analogy would be an icon popping up on the student's laptop or device, serving as an entry point to library services, be they SMS, electronic reference, databases, etc.)

Jeremy concluded with a discussion on the importance of diversity, describing the lack of it at a 2006 conference that I attended, code4lib in Corvallis. Fewer than 10 percent of the attendees were women, and there was even lower representation among other groups that are underrepresented in the library automation profession. He described the creation of code4lib scholarships for women and minority candidates, and also noted that code4lib leaders were working to create an environment in which all attendees would feel welcome. He continued by urging libraries to bring more women and minorities into library systems operations, noting the benefits of fresh perspectives and a better grasp of user needs that diversity offers.

Here's a preview of Jeremy's speech that shows its basic structure. Time to leave town!