As the demand for technology increases in the library setting, Brown and Duguid would point out that it’s important to acquire technology not just for the sake of having it, but rather for a specific purpose. A need or at least a use for technology is vital to its successful implementation. Technology is not intended to lower productivity or waste time (though it sometimes does when problems arise). If there is no purpose to a technological overhaul, then it shouldn’t be done (the Chiat/Day example is illuminating).
A social structure prepared to troubleshoot technological problems is also important to have prepared in the library. This requires librarians and library workers to learn how to use the technology in the library. They should be prepared to help each other as well as patrons with it. Within the library, workers with expertise in different areas will need to collectively assist each other. Additionally, librarians should take the time to not only help patrons, but to teach patrons how to use new technology effectively.
So often in the library world you hear worries about the extinction of libraries. Brown and Duguid would argue that the demand for books, and hence the demand for libraries, will continue on. Libraries will not be replaced by technology; they will simply evolve with it. As long as there is technology, we will need people to put it in context, troubleshoot, and assist people. Technology can lead to independence, but it also draws people together, if only to figure it out.
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2 comments:
You make such a good point about technology that it must be put in context. And that it's up to people to make it work effectively.
Information is and always will be a valuable commodity and libraries will continue to be a source of information as well as entertainment. New technologies are just another delivery mechanism. I would agree that the technologies need to be evaluated for efficacy and ease of use and then adopted judiciously.
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