1100 mon lomond abram

Sharing: The Foundation of Social Institutions

Stephen Abram, MLS UKSG 2012, GlasgowMarch 26, 2012

These slides will beavailable at Stephen’s Lighthouse blog

Change happens very fast

Fill That Gap

1

2.0

3

What Are Libraries Really For?

• Community• Learning• Discovery• Progress• Research & Knowledge (Applied/Theoretical)• Cultural Custody & Conservation• Economic Impact

SHARING

What’s the next level?

SmellyYellowLiquid

OrSex

Appeal?

It’s the Whole Experience

“The Internet and technology have

now progressed to their infancy

News Flash

7 Gifts to Libraries

1. The book isn’t dead or dying. Reading is evolving.2. Our users/customers are improving and everyone

knows more about our customers than ever before.3. The question economy is very different.4. Technology is going social and can support social

acts for social institutions.5. The PC isn’t dead, the last information explosion

was microscopic and mobile changes the whole dynamic.

6. Talent, Insight, Community, have social value.7. Opportunities always exist more in times of change

There are no knights on horses in technology.

The VAST majority of library use is virtual and is dwarfed by all information use

‘Reading’ trumps print books . . .

7 Learning Styles

What is an EXPERIENCE?

What is a library experience?

What differentiates a library experience from a transaction?

What differentiates public libraries from Google/Bing?

The Evolution

of Answers

Sensemaking: Too much choice

Why do people ask questions?

Is your library experience conceptually organized around answers and programs?

Or collections, technology and buildings?

Why do people ask questions?

Who, What, When, Where

How & Why

Data – Information – Knowledge - Behavior

To Learn or to Know

To Acquire Information, Clarify, Tune

To Decide, to Solve, to Choose, to Delay

To Interview, Delve, Interact, Progress

To Entertain or Socialize

To Reduce Fear

To Help, Aid, Cure, Be a Friend

To Win A Bet

What are your top 10-20 questions?

What is the service portfolio model that goes with those?

One public library’s Top Questions

1. Health and Wellness / Community Health / Nutrition / Diet / Recovery

2. DIY Do It Yourself Activities and Car Repair

3. Genealogy

4. Test prep (SAT, ACT, occupational tests, etc. etc.)

5. Legal Questions (including family law, divorce, adoption, etc)

6. Hobbies, Games and Gardening

7. Local History

8. Consumer reviews (Choosing a car, appliance, etc.)

9. Homework Help (grade school)

10. Technology Skills (software, hardware, web)

11. Government Programs, Services and Taxation

12. Self-help/personal development

13. Careers (jobs, counselling, etc.)

14. Readers Advisory was 14th

Knitting & Needlecrafts

Arts & Crafts

Television Shows

Gardening

Pets

Music

Traveling, Tourism & Vacations

Exercise, Cycling & Walking

Movies & Film

Computers

Cooking & Recipes

Recreational Reading

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Top 12 Patron Hobbies

Top Hobbies?Top Homework Questions?

Top Travel Destinations?What do you know?

Grocery Stores

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Meals

Tie everything to programs on a priority basis

The new bibliography and

collection development

KNOWLEDGE PORTALS

KNOWLEDGE,LEARNING,

INFORMATION &RESEARCHCOMMONS

RELEVANCE

PROGRAMS

Confusing the Customer

What is the Sun?

Aggregated databases (InfoTrac, GVRL, GDL)

Federated Discovery (PowerSearch)

Persistent URLs

Training Support

Apps, Webpages & Mobile

Marketing Support

Etc.

HOW MANY MOONS ARE THERE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?

146 Moons plus 23 provisional moons

Driving the Knowledge Portal alignment with User Behaviour:

Build Experiences

Be Technology Agnostic:Adapt and Evolve

Mobility: Where the Patron Is

Libraries Are Social Institutions

• Sharing without Context is meaningless and low value• Transactions without context generate less Transformation• Warehouses are not programs • Collections are not portfolios• Experience not Retrieval

Stephen Abram, MLSVP Strategic Relationships and Markets

Gale Cengage LearningCel: 416-669-4855

stephen.abram@cengage.comhttp://www.cengage.com

Stephen’s Lighthouse Bloghttp://stephenslighthouse.com