lyndamk

These are notes from LITA’s Top Tech Trends session from ALA midwinter. It was an informative session and lots of fun.

Be warned: These notes are rough!
 
David Walker, Web Services Librarian @ Cal State University System:

• Big trend will be proliferation of discovery systems as a next move beyond federated searching
• Focus on crafting something specific to your library
• Trend of improving discovery systems will address key issues in academic libraries by helping facilitate and mature other trends (eg, being able to find dispersed rss feeds)
• Now it is numbers race (who has most numbers of journals) and the search results are becoming too unfocused (books, articles, and docs, oh my!)

Responses:
Amanda Etches-Johnson: If discovery systems are building on federated searching, we have a problem because fed searching was a disaster. Walker respond that part of the problem is that interfaces were lacking/not enough attention paid.

Amanda Etches-Johnson, User Experience Librarian, McMaster University

• user experience is buzz word, but no one can agree on what that phrase means
• user exp design is about designing anything (tech, architect anything)
• visual design coupled with interaction design (how site makes users feel) –> in library we are just starting to talk about this
• we can’t talk about how our users feel if they can’t find what they are looking for (good we are focusing on interface design)
• because mobile interfaces have to be stripped down to use brings up interface design problems
• users are starting to seek out mobile interfaces both on devices and on regular screens (because of the stripped down aspects)
• what we do for mobile device will impact what we do for web design the next few years
• automated usability testing is becoming interesting — some sites will do this, install on server and do usability testing for you.
• User experience analytics — how do you measure the user experience on your websites? usually conversion rates (clicks to purchases); libraries need to have this conversation more even though hard to measure

Responses:
Jason Griffey – his library has done a lot on usability of the library; how see virtual and physical world usability interacting
Amanda:  literature is on holistic experience and we do need to address the disconnect between use of web tools and what happens when they come into the library/ need design in one space in line with the way design in the other
 
Joe Murphy, Science Librarian, Yale University

• mobile tech will grow (some major mobile techs we’ve already seen)
• changes are coming from user expectations
• we need to be able to do mobile app reference
• sms is oldest of mobile tech and strongest and most flexible; more than a communication tool –> also a research tool
• burden on librarians to transfer traditional skills into new environment
• transfer from ref desk to 140 characters
• physical space of the library is important too but not really for the print but for user experience; library need to be friendly for mobile research (being ok with use of phones in library, cell phone reception, outlets)
• location based gaming (4square) bringing competition into location
• twitter is nothing new (as a standard we need to react to it and figure out more developed ways of using it)
• keeping up with mobile tech is difficult – we need to support each other
• every change does have some tension
• also need to consider skills for supporting mobile tech (rethinking our trad methods)

Responses:
david: what should smaller libraries focus on with mobile tech?
Joe: biggest question for any library because not enough time for exploring; may need trade offs (less time developing collections?); we need to keep our primary user groups happy therefore figure out what is priority; but also need to figure out what the future will hold and prioritize for that); everything we do has costs for staff time– staff who are good at 

Lauren Pressley, Instructional Design Librarian, Wake Forest University

• augmented reality = blending virtual data with the real world
• started in 1960s and has developed as technology has
• example is being able to see twitter updates real time in life (using smartphone camera to take pic of a crowd with their twitter updates above them)
• now have location where maps for smartphones
• real estate maps can pull up houses for sale
• AAA app that gives you data based on location
• yelp is a good example
• she  mentioned horizon report for 2010 – tech with big educational impact
• augmented reality have impact in 2-3 yrs
• get education data by using augmented reality (historical sites–interface with what is there and the data available)
• what can libraries do with that? NC state wolfwalk is an interesting use of this
• imagine being in the stax and having section info coming out through device
• tutorials help user at point of need

Responses:
david: who takes ownership of doing this projects –> LP answered standards would be useful; places with the resources could create way for others to plug in data; this isn’t that far off tho bc apps are being developed
jason: unique stuff is in our archives; when we get to pt with standard need to dive into archives and use as tools for teaching/training
joe: how can libraries leverage for collections; like mags using e stuff to enhance pubs; anything we can do to marketing collections –> David: assist with seeing the full collection at point of need

Jason Griffey, Head of Library Information Technology at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

• discussed mobile apps
• app store open in middle of 2008 0 first unified store
• jan 2009 apple hit 500 mill apps downloaded; 5 months later 1 bill; 2 months ltr 2 bill; growth pattern has been astronomical
• out of the thousands of apps very few of them have been developed by libraries
• all other mobiles are jumping into the app store game as well as some stranger ones (printers are being released with app stores)
• he predicts that 2010 is year app dies because bringing html 5 and css 3
• html 5 brings things couldn’t do previously–offline storage support; negative audio/video tags; supports canvass –> gets away from flash; allows drag and drop
• will do away with app because HTML 5 is best in the mobile browsers (of the new generation) –> firefox, chrome support too; html 5 will work in a wide variety of things

Responses:
David: glad to see app die; because never repeat yourself; a lot of the mobile apps sit separately from the larger tool (like the catalog – have to create new version of app whenever update catalog); 
Joe: where we thinking as far as aligning resources –> JG: still think going web standards is better solution.

Next they each briefly discussed the reinvention of the book (Rocket e-book versus Kindle: have we evolved much from one to the other)
Jason G: 2 things to consider 1) Copia, at http://www.thecopia.com/) – software platform that reinvents electronic reading experience as a social experience; jointly annotate a bk; will sell devices but also push onto other devices; 2) blio (http://blioreader.com/) content by baker & taylor; non e-reader format; allows for full visual rep of the bk (graphs images); can embedded interactive media into book

Lauren P: ownership issues; reading is still solitary experience; readers will still have a place; issue of ownership is a big prob because can’t transfer ownership to another person; not actually owner of bk–just leasing; for it to be widespread adoption need idea of ownership

Joe: he doesn’t see ereaders having places in libraries; if can’t read on iphone then it is an inconvenience; 

Amanda: embedding media in ebooks; accessibility issues – library wanted to get rid of print in favor of readers and saw uproar by audio/visual impaired comm –> need keep accessibility issues in mind

David: hard to do this because not sure how Google books will turn out; big move to ebooks is necessity for libraries; used to be that finding books was easier and not jstor is easier –> dive into articles even tho not appropriate because they are online; maybe ebooks will bring parity with article use by students –> transform undergrad research; we’ve been overbuying into journals and need to stick back into ebks