TechEssence.info

When I was writing my "Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know About Technology" I put a message out on Twitter asking for the thoughts of my followers on that topic. And boy, did you ever respond! I decided that it would be worth following up my post with many of the things that my followers said, since as it turned out that I was pretty set on my list and I couldn't by any means include them all. Here you go, and thanks to all who participated!

Vendor solutions still require knowledgeable staff to make them work. A vendor who claims otherwise is lying.

No platform is forever. Ask not only how you'll move onto it, but how you'll move off of it.

It won't solve any of your problems without proper staffing and management policies, which you should allow techies to shape.

Administrators need to know that just because a staff member can support certain tech doesn't mean they can support all tech.

It's not insulting to say that those who run libraries tend not to know all that much about technology. A very different set of skills are needed to run an organization, and those skills do not often come packaged along with technical knowledge and experience. But administrators need to know some specific things about technology in order to do their jobs well, so here is my list:

Yes, the server was hacked recently, and as soon as I discovered it to be the case I backed up the data, wiped it, and reinstalled all the software.

We are ALL busy. Yesterday for example, I had a plan of what I was going to accomplish at work, but then I came in to an e-mail from a student asking for articles about the Second Anglo-Afghan War (for which we had next to nothing in the databases so I really had to hunt), and after that I found out about some dead links I needed to fix on a Web page, and then I got a call from a professor whom I needed to talk through some database searches, and then I had a reference shift all afternoon. So by the end of the day, I was shocked to find that I'd barely gotten any of the things I'd wanted to accomplish done. Imagine, if this is going on every day, how I, or anyone else in our profession, can actually make time for any sort of continuing education work?

I was at a meeting of librarians and library staff recently in which the topic of how to involve more individuals in technology projects was raised. One individual made a particularly salient point – that librarians and library staff be given opportunities and encouraged to participate in technology projects, rather than being given a timed ultimatum to do so.

This article discusses how Netflix and similar services are shaping expectations about product delivery, which in turn are driving libraries to rethink how items are delivered to their customers. Library Delivery 2.0 refers to the idea of delivering library materials into the user’s hands in a way that is personalized, convenient and fast. Library Delivery 2.0 builds on the concept of Library 2.0, a concept of a very different library service that operates according to the expectations of today’s library users. In this vision, the library makes information available wherever and whenever the user requires it” (Chad and Miller). Similarly, Library Delivery 2.0 is a concept of a very different library delivery service that operates according to the expectations of today’s users. In this vision, the library delivers information wherever and whenever the user requires it and in whatever format the user needs it.

Many libraries employ usability testing to assess new or updated online services, such as database listings, catalogs, and digital collections. A popular model is observing a small number of potential users perform prescribed tasks using the service, and noting where those users encounter problems. This model, when used as the sole method for gaining user data, requires that the service be relatively well-developed before testing is done, increasing the risk that the fundamental design of the service does not meet user needs.

Whether we want to admit it or not, none of us is completely objective when it comes to choosing technology, or anything else for that matter. We attempt to collect and analyze an unbiased portrayal of the facts, but there are always outside influences which affect and shape our decisions. While carefully researched recommendations by respected publications go a long way to helping us with our decisions, one arresting tale from a colleague about terrible customer service and frequent down-time will send most of us into a 180° spin. How can we make solid decisions about technology for our organizations? One way is to keep in mind some common “soft spots” that people have when making these choices.

The tangle of cords under the printer station has gotten out of hand. The server keeps crashing, and you can't get it fixed fast enough. You want an institutional repository, and someone to run it. Your web page is a disaster. Whatever the reason, you want a systems librarian.

Or do you?

Grants offer attractive opportunities for carrying out technology initiatives that might not otherwise be possible for libraries. But grant money isn’t truly free money. The additional opportunities for libraries afforded by grants require time, effort, and commitment. In most respects, planning and implementing technology grants are no different than any other type of grant a library may seek and receive.