MMIT October 2008 This house believes that libraries need to embrace Library 2.0 technologies in order to develop and deliver their services Mark Stiles Professor of Technology Supported Learning Staffordshire University MMIT October 2008

Some initial points I hate all the 2.0 terms The world is changing – we have to change with it I am not a librarian of any sort whatsoever There are LOTS of tensions within HE organisations Are public and academic libraries diverging even more in role? I am an avid reader and book collector In 20 years in HE I have NEVER had a University library ticket and never borrowed a book

MMIT October 2008 Some stats (a year or so old) from OCLC:

MMIT October 2008 US College students: 72% used search engines as first point of call 2% used library web sites as first point of call 67% learnt about resources from friends (second point of call) 53% trusted search engines as much as the library To validate what they had found –80% used other websites –78% used tutors –36% used librarians year old used people MORE to validate BUT only 20% found Library websites worthwhile (45% for college students)

MMIT October 2008 OCLC concluded: that library resources, services, and information experts “appear to be increasingly less visible in a universe of abundant information.” Even college students … do not access such services as frequently as college students did in previous years. (Lorenzo, Oblinger and Dziuban, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 1, 2007)

MMIT October 2008 Some stuff from my world: From 2005 JISC/UCISA MLE “Landscape Study” of UK HE and FE consultation document: …the results also show two thirds of modules of study being web supplemented which would seem to indicate that the ‘stuff your notes into your VLE’ model is prevalent and increasing From the 2008 UCISA TEL Survey The tools that have increased significantly in usage are those for podcasting, e-portfolios, e-assessment, blogs and wikis. Web supplemented practice … remains the leading activity… Consider the impact of this on learner behaviour…

MMIT October 2008 Some questions about educational and other organisations to mull over…

MMIT October 2008 We live in a society which seems increasingly to see regulation as the solution to all problems… In education, has our desire to enhance the learning experience with technology created a generation of learners who are watched, monitored, measured, intervened, and controlled more than ever before? Are our practices and systems organised for OUR benefit rather than those of our customers?

MMIT October 2008 Have we missed a point somewhere? Might the “newer” generations of learners and other clients already have the collaborative and sharing practices we seek to promote? Might they use these practices and skills to merely bypass our attempts at “control”?

MMIT October 2008 Are educational institutions in a cleft stick? Has our educational practice actually become controlling? Is much of our corporate practice focused on regulation and satisfying the regulators? Will our conflicting internal cultures derail our attempts to really innovate for the needs of “the new world”?

MMIT October 2008 Tutors and learners build their own toolsets from: what is provided by the institution what they have on their own (personal) computer what is available on the Web. Learners “opt out” of systems institutions and tutors might prefer them to use for formal learning activities initiate “sharing” and “community” activities outside of the formal learning experience using tools they themselves have chosen. engage with and draw on much wider and more diverse communities. The future – or happening now?

MMIT October 2008 Freedom vs Control Nature of Universities promotes regulation & control Funding, audit & inspection promote the same Academic culture tends to be conservative University as “Professional Bureaucracy”

MMIT October 2008 Freedom vs Control excessive hierarchy and over-heavy bureaucracy, the comfort of ingrained routines, strong vertical command structures and weak lateral and bottom-up communication, unbalanced and non-integrated authority across professional domains, conservatism and risk aversion, territoriality, defensiveness and insecurity as well as wilfulness (Middlehurst, 1998) The individual experts may be highly innovative within a specialist domain, but the difficulties of coordination across functions and disciplines impose severe limits on the innovative capability of the organization as a whole. (Lam, 2005)

MMIT October 2008 The commercial reality? The world IS changing and our clients expectations with it. The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media. Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy. Networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge. People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance. When we have questions we turn to each other for answers. If you didn't have such a tight rein on "your people" maybe they'd be among the people we'd turn to. From “The Cluetrain Manifesto” -

MMIT October 2008 Library & Librarian 2.0? Realities The “long tail…” of resources Learner initiated activity Informal and formal learning interconnected Diverse learning communities Learning activity outside institutional control WBL and Flexible Learning Librarians Are CLEVER and SKILLED people who can REALLY HELP They need to PART of the community of learning People WANT to engage with them BUT in THEIR own ways

MMIT October 2008 The new world? Thanks to Michael Wesch:

MMIT October 2008 So… The the library and the librarian should embrace this new world – both have so much to contribute… Thanks Or unemployed?