Closing thoughts John Naughton arcadia@cambridge
The perils of denial
It’s not just librarians
It’s not just librarians
It’s a confusing period “informed bewilderment” (Castells) “we have to maintain the old services while moving into a different world” “research libraries are not green-field sites”
Attitudes/perceptions Librarians are...
Option 1 Distaste, revulsion, denial Focus on the downsides of the emerging ecosystem Early retirement?
Option 2 Seeing opportunities in the emerging ecosystem Harnessing/engaging user-generated energy Flickr, YouTube, Mashups, blogging, mobiles,... Emergence of a new species: the entrepreneurial librarian!
Option 3 A professional challenge Understanding new users & their needs Embracing relevant technologies Engaging with new scholarly workflows Digital repositories & the REF Becoming central to teaching and learning Digital curation ‘Born digital’ resources Making non-digital resources available globally
Option 4 Becoming ‘thought leaders’ in the emerging media ecosystem Why leave the Today programme to techies, or Weinberger & Shirky? (or Naughton, for that matter) Or the London Review of Books to John Lanchester?
Option 1 is not an option for Cambridge arcadia@cambridge offers us ways of exploring the others