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The final program of SOLINET was “Is MyLibrary Going Down the YouTube? Reflections on the Information Landscape” from Diane Kresh. It was an interesting presentation, if, for nothing else, it reiterated what I had been hearing in the other sessions. This was the most on-message conference I’ve ever been to. And, since I like that message, I felt comfortable with what was said, and only took notes on a few key parts:

  • We should be thinking about the sustainability of libraries
  • Based on responding to the evolving needs of users
  • Lots of content being generated, changes the context we’re operating in
  • Information is increasingly local, organic, participative
  • How can libraries collect, manage, or describe this?
  • Some change drivers: ubiquity of communication tools, new workplace structures, blurred distinction between production and consumption of information, changes in other media industries
  • She cited the “did you know” video.
  • “The real change is a cultural one and it’s deep. Users are telling us it’s all about access, and libraries are all about ownership….” But she changed the slide before I could get it all. It looked good, though!
  • Discussed the need to have a tolerance for risks, interest in change, manage multiple priorities, and daring to dream
  • Mentioned the ever famous Learning 2.0 out of PLCMC
  • People want to find it, get it, and get out
  • Brought up one of my favorite points: that users who are learning about new technologies have an expectation that we understand them, too (esp. when they’re technologies that enhance research)
  • Another obligatory Long Tail reference
  • How should the philosophy of librarianship change due to the change in creation and delivery tools, change in environment, change in culture, etc.
  • Should we approach privacy differently? Less privacy for better service?
  • Suggestions for keeping current: Pew Internet reports, ChangeThis, TechCrunch, Tame the Web, Shifted Librarian, Library Stuff, Librarian in Black, Current Cites, First Monday, D-Lib, New Atlantis, Normative Data Project for Libraries
  • Practical ideas: identify partnerships, be opportunistic, re-examine library education, increase cross-cultural access, achieve system and content integration, on stop shopping, change library organization to meet new demands, build community, protect privacy and role of the library as the information commons, assess progress continually, evolve.
  • Technology is the easy part, changing the library culture is hard.