1. “First: there is one.”*
A few thoughts on the digital future of libraries
Presented to Library Assistants Day
14 April 2014
Michael Lascarides
Manager, National Library Online
National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Mātauranga
@mlascarides
michael.lascarides@dia.govt.nz
* Tip o’ the hat to @librarykris
Tuesday, May 6, 14

2. Don’t think of
digital as
something
separate.
Tuesday, May 6, 14
Digital is now (and will be for the rest of your careers) inextricably linked to the physical. It will be a different mode of the same thing, like reading aloud vs reading silently
from the printed page.

3. Tuesday, May 6, 14
We think about new things in terms of what preceded them. They take time to become their own things. “Digital Libraries” are an example of this
phenomenon.

4. Stop worrying
about the
future of
reading.
Tuesday, May 6, 14
Books are not going to go away. People are reading more than
ever.

5. Tuesday, May 6, 14
People who worry about the future of books think most books look like this....
Altar Gospels. http://exhibitions.nypl.org/treasures/items/show/138

6. Tuesday, May 6, 14
...but many look like this...

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...or this.
http://www.harlequin.com/store.html?cid=600

8. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Many books were just waiting to turn into something as awesome as this.
http://touchpress.com/titles/solarsystem

9. Tuesday, May 6, 14
And while we’re on the subject, stop fretting that the kids with their LOLs and their OMGs are becoming illiterate. In fact, they’re writing better
than ever. (First-year students have always sucked at writing; today’s suck a little less.)
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/october12/lunsford-writing-research-101209.html

10. Be specific.
What books?
What use?
What patrons?
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11. Tuesday, May 6, 14
(Note: this slide is anecdotal, not data-based. Caveat emptor.) Many libraries are seeing the figures for certain parts of their collections plummet due to the internet (eg,
general reference vs. Google and Wikipedia), but an increase in others (popular titles, rare and unique items). KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

12. Mobile
computing
matters.
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14. Tuesday, May 6, 14
The fastest computer in the world in 1990 is slower than one iPad.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/05/10/ipad.2.benches.as.fast.as.cray.2.from.1985/

15. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Your phone now does all of this. (1985).

16. Tuesday, May 6, 14
There are almost as many phones on the planet as people. Circles represent population. Dark circles represent number of cellphone subscriptions. Light areas represent the
difference. (Data: World Bank; Visualisation: Michael)

17. Tuesday, May 6, 14
The always-on connection can lead you from “hey there’s smoke!” to...

18. Tuesday, May 6, 14
to...

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...to this in seconds.

20. Make
connections.
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21. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Make your data linkable and of the web (not just on it)! http://5stardata.info/

22. Design for
participation.
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[35:00]

24. Tuesday, May 6, 14
http://
menus.nypl.org

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If it’s possible to keep track of who’s participating, give rewards. Hold a special reception with refreshments in your library, and only give the invitation to online
participants. If you’re not tracking the identity of participants, make sure the messaging you display is loaded with gratitude.

30. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Expose the stories behind a collection, and make them relatable to users. Use feedback to create narratives (as in Old Weather, where every entry moves the ship along on a
map). http://www.oldweather.org/

31. Tell stories.
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34. Understand as
much as you
can about
copyright.
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35. Tuesday, May 6, 14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk862BbjWx4
http://www.tinyjetpack.com/2011/08/23/the-history-of-copyright-via-star-wars-harry-potter-and-the-walt-disney-company/

36. Tuesday, May 6, 14
http://www.nypl.org/locations/tid/55/node/92121

37. If you want to take an image of
“The Milkmaid” and put it on toilet
paper, it’s OK with me. But don’t
take it off of Google Images—take
it off of Rijksstudio because we
have the best image.
Peter Gorgels, Rijksmuseum
NZ National Digital Forum, 2013
Tuesday, May 6, 14
This is the healthiest attitude towards open reuse that I can
think of.

38. Become
porous.
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39. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Traditional library practice is like a fortress with a guarded entrance, because it was tacitly assumed that use =
decay.

40. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Don’t do this.

41. Tuesday, May 6, 14
Be open. Put as many holes in your walls as possible. Digital libraries can get better with use. And there is no single “right” pathway into and
through the library. The best thing you can do for a patron might be to send them somewhere else.

42. Tuesday, May 6, 14
http://www.walkingpaper.org/2399

43. Look for better
problems.
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44. Tuesday, May 6, 14
The prevalence of the word “becaufe” in Google Books (due to improper scanning of the olde-style “s”) was cited by some as a problem with
Google Books itself. I think it’s a great example of a better problem to have... I’d rather see a critical view of the GB corpus than not have GB
at all.
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=because
%2Cbecaufe&year_start=1600&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cbecause%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B
%2Cbecaufe%3B%2Cc0

45. Libraries are
ideally
positioned
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Hmmm, a cohort of trained information professionals with deep, physical roots in our communities and an ethos of sharing information as freely as possible? Yes, I think we
can put them to work helping people :)

46. Play!
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Experiment. The whole world is changing. The Web itself is built by people who make it up as they go along. Jump in and make something.

47. Have empathy.
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Everyone is one this ride together. Some will thrive. Some may lag behind. Some will be OK with a bit of hand-holding. Understand what your patrons are grappling with,
and learn as much as you can about how to help them.

48. Thank you!
Questions, please.
Presented to Library Assistants Day
14 April 2014
Michael Lascarides
Manager, National Library Online
National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Mātauranga
@mlascarides
michael.lascarides@dia.govt.nz
Tuesday, May 6, 14