James W. Marcum. PhD, MSLS September 2012

Perceiving the Complexities: What characterizes our ‘age’?

Perceiving present COMPLEXITIES

Professional Mindset Learning support; traditionally: – reactive – print-bound – preservationist – Davenport & Prusak, Information Ecology (1997). – vague on purpose, “unreflective” – tunnel vision, isolated discourse – J. Budd, G. Radford, W. Wiegand, et al. Future sustainability requires rethinking these traditions and becoming proactive, interactive But will style and new gizmos do the trick?

Challenge: Intense Competition For instantaneous, “good enough” information Acquire books (new, used, or e-) with reviews and information Digital Library: – databases, e-books Web 2.0 – webinars, wikis, games Social Media – Twitter – Facebook, etc.

Facebook is training 500 million people how to collaborate online…. SOCIAL MEDIA: Constant Interactivity

Challenge: New Knowledge/ BIG DATA

CHALLENGE: A visual culture is taking over the world” - J. Naisbett, Mind Set (2006) Design, architecture, entertainment, fashion… and the ubiquitous camera.

ASSUMPTION… “The role of library education today is not to simply train people to perform the library functions of the past (public services, cataloging, collection development, etc.), Or even to prepare people to perform the new library functions of the future (information technology literacy, digital resources, knowledge management, etc.). But rather to prepare people to transform and develop the organizations that will assure the basic functions of the library are available to culture and society in the future.” » J W Marcum

VISION: Revive “reading” Free voluntary (extended) reading produces better – vocabulary – spelling – writing – with longer retention and – more and better reading in the future. …than formal instruction. – S. Krashen, The Power of Reading, 2 nd ed

VISION: lead in the knowledge creation process On demand books and information Institutional repository Knowledge Commons Enterprise; partnerships NEW VISION: Library as promoter of community and collaborative creation of new knowledge. Lankes, Atlas of New Librarianship

VISION: Champion Information Culture Literacy Promote the steady progression from LITERACY, to INFORMATION LITERACY, to INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LITERACY to VISUAL LITERACY, to INFORMATION CULTURE LITERACY: What is it that people need to be able to do to function effectively in today’s fast changing “informaiton culture”

METHOD: The Collaborative Imperative Our systems are too interrelated Our problems are too complex Our knowledge, skills, and relationships are insufficient… To accomplish what needs to be done by ourselves. Collaborations and partnerships are the means of accomplishing with others what you cannot realize alone.

In Conclusion: Library Education and the Future Challenges: – Popular perception: “against the current” – Changes in social behavior: participation, social media, e-braries, e-shopping – From administrative perspective: Libraries obsolete? Response: – Not a time to “stay the course” – Time to try new things; new roles; new ventures – Multi-wheeled tracks, collaborations, partnerships. NOT a time to be passengers on the bus, but time to seize the wheel and drive to a new destination

James W. Marcum