amber wildelecture2012

The Future of Public Libraries5 strategies that matter

Stephen Abram, MLS Amber Wilde Memorial Lecture

University of Toronto iSchoolJan. 19, 2012

These slides will beavailable at Stephen’s Lighthouse blog

Avoid the Climate of Poverty

Worrisome Symptoms of Dysfunction

Terrible advocacy Slow and poor response to the e-Book challenge Generational disrespect and misunderstanding Workplace friction and avoidance Too slow technology adoption Inadequate promotion of digital resources Inadequate promotion of programs Handcrafting

Is there still life in libraries in a fully web

world?

Yes, but . . .

Change: Are public libraries Future Ready?

Change can happen very fast

Fill That Gap

1

2.0

3

5 Strategies that Matter

1: Aggressive, assertive, attention seeking, in-your-face promotion

What Are Libraries Really For?

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

SmellyYellowLiquid

OrSex

Appeal?

It’s the Whole Experience

News Flash “The Internet and technology have now

progressed to their infancy”

7 Gifts to Public Libraries

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

question economy is different.3. Technology is going social and can support social

acts for social institutions.4. The PC isn’t dead, but, again, it’s evolving and more

mobile.5. We know more about our customers than ever

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

2: Engaging the next generation where they are and not repairing

them.

My son: Zachary

NextGen Library Staff

They hate the term ‘NextGen’(or any label for that matter)

Work with them.

3: Focus on reading and questions – not books and objects

What is an EXPERIENCE?

What is a library experience?

What differentiates a library experience from a transaction?

What differentiates public libraries from Google/Bing?

Books are a Poor

Branding

The Book Comet

Harper Collins fiasco Amazon self-published . . . You? Amazon “authors”, Nancy Pearl curator New Google Bookstore Amazon Subscriptions and Lending Bump 24Symbols Bookish Pottermore Recommendation Engines: Books & Authors, Bibliocommons,

LibraryThing . . . Apple . . . iStore, iBooks

GBS

Launched in US on June 30th

Back Office: Baker & Taylor

Expected Launch July 2011

Expected Launch 2012

7 books - 15 billion franchiseBack office – Overdrive / Sony

What do libraries have?LibraryThingBiblioCommonsChiliFreshEtc.

FictionNon-FictionReading

What does all this mean?

The Article level universe The Chapter and Paragraph Universe eBooks Opportunity: Integrated with Visuals –

graphics and charts, ‘video’, scored, integrated with Sound and Speech, integrated with social web, integrated with interaction and not just interactivity

How would you enhance a book? How do Libraries play the game? Libraries are creative centres or publishers?

Can we frame the e-book issue so that it can be addressed rationally?

Why do people read?

Why do people read?1. To learn2. To engage in hearing other’s opinions (to agree or disagree or understand)3. To develop more knowledge about myself and develop as a whole person4. To be entertained and laugh, to engage and interact, to feel5. To address boredom and the inexorable progress of time6. To research and keep up-to-date7. To participate well in civil society (everything from news to voting)8. To be informed (and maybe smarter)9. To understand others (individually, spiritually, and culturally)10. To escape our day-to-day lives, to be transported into the imagination11. To stimulate the imagination and be inspired or spiritual12. To write and communicate better through reading others13. To teach, to share14. To have something to talk about15. To connect with like-minded people

3: Focus on questions and needs – not desks and in person F2F

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 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

Gift:Content Spam

List of content farms and general spammy user generated content sites:

All Experts (allexperts.com) Answers (answers.com) Answer Bag (answerbag.com) Articles Base (articlesbase.com) Ask (ask.com) Associated Content (associatedcontent.com) BizRate (bizrate.com) Buzle (buzzle.com) Brothersoft (brothersoft.com) Bytes (bytes.com) ChaCha (chacha.com) eFreedom (efreedom.com) eHow (ehow.com) Essortment (essortment.com) Examiner (examiner.com) Expert Village (expertvillage.com) )

Experts Exchange (experts-exchange.com) eZine Articles (ezinearticles.com) Find Articles (findarticles.com) FixYa (fixya.com Helium (helium.com) Hub Pages (hubpages.com) InfoBarrel (infobarrel.com) Livestrong (livestrong.com) Mahalo (mahalo.com) Mail Archive (mail-archive.com) Question Hub (questionhub.com) Squidoo (squidoo.com) Suite101 (suite101.com) Twenga (twenga.com) WiseGeek (wisegeek.com) Wonder How To (wonderhowto.com) Yahoo! Answers (answers.yahoo.com) Xomba (xomba.com)

GOOG

The nasty facts about Google &

Bing and consumer search:

SEO / SMOContent Farms

Advertiser-drivenGeotagging

Whack-a-Mole:

FarmerPanda

Panda Silver

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

Grocery Stores

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Meals

4: 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?

InfoTrac GVRL GDL 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

Earth1. Earth's Moon

Mars2. Phobos 3. Deimos

Jupiter4. Io 5. Europa 6. Ganymede 7. Callisto 8. Amalthea 9. Himalia 10. Elara 11. Pasiphae 12. Sinope 13. Lysithea 14. Carme 15. Ananke 16. Leda 17. Thebe 18. Adrastea 19. Metis 20. Callirrhoe 21. Themisto 22. Megaclite 23. Taygete 24. Chaldene 25. Harpalyke 26. Kalyke 27. Iocaste 28. Erinome 29. Isonoe 30. Praxidike 31. Autonoe 32. Thyone 33. Hermippe 34. Aitne 35. Eurydome

36. Euanthe 37. Euporie 38. Orthosie 39. Sponde 40. Kale 41. Pasithee 42. Hegemone 43. Mneme 44. Aoede 45. Thelxinoe 46. Arche 47. Kallichore 48. Helike 49. Carpo 50. Eukelade 51. Cyllene 52. Kore 53. Herse

Saturn54. Mimas 55. Enceladus 56. Tethys 57. Dione 58. Rhea 59. Titan 60. Hyperion 61. Iapetus 62. Erriapus 63. Phoebe 64. Janus 65. Epimetheus 66. Helene 67. Telesto 68. Calypso 69. Kiviuq 70. Atlas 71. Prometheus 72. Pandora 73. Pan

74. Ymir 75. Paaliaq 76. Tarvos 77. Ijiraq 78. Suttungr 79. Mundilfari 80. Albiorix 81. Skathi 82. Siarnaq 83. Thrymr 84. Narvi 85. Methone 86. Pallene 87. Polydeuces 88. Daphnis 89. Aegir 90. Bebhionn 91. Bergelmir 92. Bestla 93. Farbauti 94. Fenrir 95. Fornjot 96. Hati 97. Hyrrokkin 98. Kari 99. Loge 100. Skoll 101. Surtur 102. Greip 103. Jarnsaxa 104. Tarqeq 105. Anthe 106. Aegaeon

Uranus107. Cordelia 108. Ophelia 109. Bianca 110. Cressida 111. Desdemona

112. Juliet 113. Portia 114. Rosalind 115. Mab 116. Belinda 117. Perdita 118. Puck 119. Cupid 120. Miranda 121. Francisco 122. Ariel 123. Umbriel 124. Titania 125. Oberon 126. Caliban 127. Stephano 128. Trinculo 129. Sycorax 130. Margaret 131. Prospero 132. Setebos 133. Ferdinand

Neptune134. Triton 135. Nereid 136. Naiad 137. Thalassa 138. Despina 139. Galatea 140. Larissa 141. Proteus 142. Halimede 143. Psamathe 144. Sao 145. Laomedeia 146. Neso

Provisional Moons

Jupiter

1. S/2003 J2 2. S/2003 J3 3. S/2003 J4 4. S/2003 J5 5. S/2003 J9 6. S/2003 J10 7. S/2003 J12 8. S/2003 J15 9. S/2003 J16 10. S/2003 J18 11. S/2003 J19 12. S/2003 J23 13. S/2010 J 1 14. S/2010 J 2

Saturn15. S/2004 S7 16. S/2004 S12 17. S/2004 S13 18. S/2004 S17 19. S/2006 S1 20. S/2006 S3 21. S/2007 S2 22. S/2007 S3 23. S/2009 S1

Driving the Knowledge Portal alignment with User Behaviour:

Build Experiences

Sample Challenges

Top Reference and Research Question Buckets Employment Homework Health Government access and forms …

How would this look?

Top Reference and Research Questions Do you know them? Or do you know retail

sales numbers or circulation numbers better? Role of Encyclopedia Shelf Talkers & databases / eBooks Being rational about homework role for public

libraries Men users – we’re pretty bad at that. The new Senior

5: Be technology Agnostic:Adapt and Evolve

Mobility: Where the Patron Is

Mobility

Fun Program Ideas Act Like a User Day (signs, sign up, ADD, kids, wheelchair) Librarian for a Day – Homework Peer Coaching Fraud and ID Theft Prevention Facebook for Teens – Study, Sharing and Social Safety

Facebook for Adults – Work, Reputation, Jobs Signage Top 20 Questions Portals Focus Groups eBay (Cameras, How to, Books, etc.) Perennial Trade / Garden Days Garage Band MP3 collection Flickr Trading Cards Who’s here @the library (photos, FB, tweets, recommenders, talents, etc.) Collections Slap Down Research Success for Adult Learners Download Faire / Digital Days – download to phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers. 23 Things TNG

The Value of Libraries Soundbite

The Value of Public Librarieshttp://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/06/the-value-of-public-libraries/

The Value of School Librarieshttp://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/06/the-value-of-school-libraries/

The Value of Academic and College Librarieshttp://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/07/value-of-academic-and-college-libraries/

The Value of Special Librarieshttp://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/07/value-of-special-libraries/

Library Advocacy: Save the Library Campaignshttp://stephenslighthouse.com/2010/04/01/save-the-library-campaigns/

Storytelling…

Libraries Are Social

Institutions

Summary

Respect the generations – learn from eachother End User Psychographic Centricity Focus on the Questions (Needs, CRM) Build or Buy Knowledge / Experience Portals (Meals) Emphasize Content Quality (not formats like books) Expand Social Media Programs on Information Literacy Advocate and Align with the Listener Tell Stories, Have users tell stories Strategic Analytics Investment – Measure Impact, ROI

and Value Collaborate vs. socialize or service / servant

News Flash

News Flash

Shift Happens

The power of libraries

Librarians

Conan the Librarian

Librarians 1918

Librarians

Don’t piss them off.

Ok, sure. We’ve all got our little preconceived notions about who librarians are and what they do.Many people think of librarians as diminutive civil servants, scuttling about “Sssh-ing” people and stamping things. Well, think again buster.Librarians have degrees. They go to graduate school for Information Science and become masters of data systems and human/computer interaction. Librarians can catalog anything from an onion to a dog’s ear. They could catalog you.Librarians wield unfathomable power. With a flip of the wrist they can hide your dissertation behind piles of old Field and Stream magazines. They can find data for your term paper that you never knew existed. They may even point you toward new and appropriate subject headings.People become librarians because they know too much. Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories. They cannot be confined to disciplines. Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing. They bring order to chaos. They bring wisdom and culture to the masses. They preserve every aspect of human knowledge. Librarians rule. And they will kick the crap out of anyone who says otherwise.

Follow the Amber Road

Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLAVP strategic partnerships and markets

Cengage Learning (Gale)Cel: 416-669-4855

stephen.abram@cengage.comStephen’s Lighthouse Blog

http://stephenslighthouse.comFacebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Plaxo : Stephen

AbramFourSquare, Path: Stephen AbramTwitter, Quora, Yelp, etc.: sabram

SlideShare: StephenAbram1