IT in Academic Libraries: A Retrospective Gwendolyn Ebbett Dean of the Library

This session will be a retrospective walk through the past several years of the use of technology in academic libraries; the challenges and opportunities faced by librarians, faculty and students.

Ambassador Yearbook 1957, page 71 From Daily News, June 27, 2013

Ambassador Yearbook 1958, page 40

Undated – Photo of Leddy Library Acq.Bib department

Print warehouse Now: Still collecting and preserving But: digital world – Leddy’s Collection +Masses of information “out there”

Gone from hand writing cards to –Typing information onto cards –To automated production of cards –Online Public Access catalogues –One stop searching of today

Gone from in the library print subject name indexes to in the library online catalog searches by keyword, name, title to 24 hour searching from anywhere using computers, laptops, smart devices and using almost correct spelling.

Technology has enabled us to be information rich as long as you have a device and access

What has this meant for librarians, faculty and students? Ans: New ways of teaching, learning and doing research.

Students:  Able to do assignments from beginning to end in the library (computers, scanners, printing, even publishing assistance)  Long hours of operation, group and individual study spaces, informal spaces  On-line reference support from anywhere  On-line classes anytime, anywhere  New interdisciplinary programs

For Faculty:  24 hour access to excellent scholarly resources  Able to access OER materials for teaching  Ability to undertake collaborative research with colleagues around the world  Use of IRs to make research publicly available  OA Journal and monograph publishing support  Development of new inter/ intra disciplinary programs

For Librarians:  New roles in scholarly communications and digital scholarship  Different way of building, storing and disseminating collections  Change in teaching information literacy  Collaboration and cooperation norm  Evident based assessment of all we do

Librarians cont’d:  Need to stay on top of emerging library trends  Need to stay on top of emerging technologies: mobile connectivity, crowd funding, smart homes and some of the ensuing privacy and security issues  Life long learners

For All:  Continuous learning, curiosity, flexibility  Cooperation, collaboration, connections  Continuous Assessment of community needs - quantitative, qualitative

My proudest achievements at Windsor:  Decision to go digital in 1998  Building OCUL’s Scholars Portal, , Geo portal, and in 2015, OLRC  OA support Uwindsor  Building national librarians research culture  Culture of innovation and leadership in embracing new technologies

I Think being a librarian is one of the most exciting ways of engaging with new technology. Rate of change is accelerating, as is the amount of information, which means so are the opportunities.

Thank you Questions