LEM 517
Jean Hardin Bauer
Emerging Technology – Project 7
March 15, 2008
Maybe you have a digital picture frame that rotates photographs of your family. Or maybe you’re waiting to purchase an HDTV digital cookbook that allows you to access pictures while watching television and accessing recipes on a LCD screen. The new James Bond 007 inspired DVR pen has a wireless digital video recorder with a microphone and it can still be used as a pen. Not so long ago, these items would have seemed a virtual impossibility, however, they are available now or are on their way to marketing soon. New technological advances are being made at a fast pace and libraries are expected to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of emerging technology. In an effort to stay current, libraries are working hard to keep their patrons up to date on the latest advances before those advances become obsolete in a few years and are replaced by other new trends. The life-expectancy of an automation system is about five to seven years, so it is the responsibility of the library to keep their equipment up to date as well as keep their patrons informed of new emerging technology (Schultz-Jones, 2006).
One of the ways libraries can help their patrons is by updating resource sharing - also known as Interlibrary Loans. Because more and more libraries are using web-based automation systems, there is more material accessibility and acquisition of materials from different libraries. SirsiDynix is a manufacturing leader of automated library systems. According to their website, their “Universal Resource Sharing Application (URSA) can be used by all types and sizes of libraries as a single, full-featured ILL solution or in combination with other interlibrary loan products, depending on the needs of the library. The displays are fully translatable to a variety of languages. URSA provides benefits that no other resource sharing system offers” (SirsiDynix, n.d.). SirsiDynix has capabilities to send patrons notices via email, as well as allow patrons to see their status from their home computers. There are also some systems that allow patrons the ability to access materials at their convenience from their own computers without ever leaving home. Materials can be ordered online and delivered to the patron’s choice of addresses. Materials can be delivered with return mailers without a service charge. Web-based resource sharing gives libraries a global edge and makes small libraries as inclusive as larger ones. This allows libraries the ability to become more user-friendly and gives patrons more responsibility for acquiring their own resources (Candy Zemon - Senior Product Strategist, November 3, 2006).
Another emerging technology affecting libraries will be the use of electronics such as the Apple iPod. The iPod, introduced in 2001 (Schultz-Jones, 2006), is very popular for downloading hours of music, as are other MP3-enabled audio players. Teachers have already begun using audio players to capture their students’ attention by podcasting. Podcasting, “a form of radio programming that posts to a Web site for download to an audio player, enables instructors to distribute audio files with educational content” (Schultz-Jones, 2006). One teacher, Eric Langhorst, has used this technology quite successfully by requiring students to read a book and then post comments on their class virtual book club Blog. Reading and listening to books simultaneously improves comprehension for some students and increases time for learning in transit or simply enjoying a good book (Association, 2006). Not only were comments from the students and the book author included, but images, links to the novel, and student-created movie posters were added. Mr. Langhorst believes that books and technology complemented each other and stated that “technology didn't kill the book; it gave it more life and enabled it to grow beyond individual experience” (Langhorst, 2007). This use of technology can enhance a library in just the same way it was used in the classroom. Libraries could use podcasting for book talks, visiting author sessions, or helping patrons with research (Schultz-Jones, 2006).
The International Standard Book Number or ISBN allows librarians, as well as booksellers and book publishers, a universal way to track titles, as well as different versions of the same titles. The ISBN has been a 10-digit number since 1970, but since January 2007, thirteen digits has become the standard to make way for the ever-increasing number of publications and to prepare for global commerce (Schultz-Jones, 2006). The 10-digit numbers became 13-digit numbers by adding a 978 prefix to existing numbers. When those numbers are exhausted, the prefix will become 979. Automation systems had to accommodate this transition and be capable of handling publications with a ten as well as a thirteen digit ISBN. This change impacted libraries directly in all aspects from acquisitions to cataloging to resource sharing. As the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) notes on its web site, "The ISBN standard is being changed to expand the numbering capacity of the ISBN system and alleviate numbering shortages in certain areas of the world." Altering the number to 13 digits "will fully align the numbering system…with the global EAN.UCC identification system…used to identify most other consumer goods." (Breaux & Dawson, 2006). The only way to create more numbers is to make them longer, just as we have done phones numbers to accommodate the increasing numbers of cell phones, fax lines, and multiple land lines. Publications will be better able to assimilate into a global world. The emergence of additional numbers for publications is just one more way that libraries need to keep up with the increasing number of resources available to patrons, as well as ensure that their automation systems are capable of keeping pace in the 21st century. Our future use of technology and its capabilities will continue to enhance our lives – at home and at our libraries. We can look forward to smaller, wireless, more accessible products than those we have today. There will be more powerful and interactive capabilities available and schools and libraries will be able to suit functions to their own needs. Data will be easier to collect and manage and patrons and students will be able to perform tasks in real-time situations. “Technology decision makers will want to make note of these characteristics of new technologies as they consider future investments” (Association, 2006).
Bibliography
Association, N. M. (2006). Hot Technologies for Education: What's Happening Now and Later. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
Breaux, A.-M., & Dawson, L. (2006). Striking Thirteen: Librarians, Publishers, and Book Vendors Better Have Their Eyes Wide Open for the Changes to Come with the New ISBN-13. Library Journal , 3.
Candy Zemon - Senior Product Strategist. (November 3, 2006). Rethinking Resource Sharing. NISO Workshop: Discovery to Delivery (p. 35). Baltimore: National Information Systems Organization.
Langhorst, E. (2007). After the Bell, Beyond the Walls. Educational Leadership , 4.
Schultz-Jones, B. (2006). An Automation Primer for School Library Media Centers and Small Libraries. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.
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