2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

Pushing Boundaries: From Collections to Service
By James King, Information Architect, NIH Library
15
BEST PRACTICES 2012
Thinking back just 20 years ago, I can rattle off a lot of things I’ve seen for the first time
that are now commonplace like personal computers, cable TV, e-mail, the Web, cell
phones, laptops, and smart phones.
What is my daughter going to have easy access to in 20 years? Will she use a computer,
a smart phone, or an embedded device as her primary access to the Web? Will she have
easy access to an ‘augmented reality’ like you can currently see with Google Goggles?
Will she “lug” a backpack to school or carry a Nook or Kindle-like device? Will that school
include virtual sessions with the best educators on the planet, combined with immersive
experiences to not only learn about science and history, but to live it? If technology is
changing the potential life of my 3-year-old daughter, why isn’t it changing our mindset in
the libraries and organizations in which we work?
Jack Welch said that when the change on the outside is greater than the change on the
inside, the end is near. If we are not rapidly adapting to the needs of our customers, in
this tight economic market, we will be viewed as expendable.
It is useful to look at the Chinese word for crisis, which is created by combining two
symbols:
Figure 1 - Symbols
for Crisis and
Opportunity
The first symbol represents danger and everyone will recognize that
libraries are facing a lot of them including budget cuts, downsizing,
closures, old school librarians focused on preservation of the status quo,
managers that are focused on bottom line, and IT departments reaching
beyond the pipes and into things like taxonomies and Knowledge
Management.
However, the second symbol represents opportunity. I firmly believe that
our future opportunities are wrapped up in how well we can collaborate
with our customers, especially in two potential growth areas:
• Location Independence
• Custom Services