Libraries Lead!

Library & information science for decades has focused on the “user” perspective in systems and services. This includes HCI (human-computer interaction), interfaces, features in search and catalog systems, and ways of improving services (e.g., online/chat reference, maker spaces, events). We provide systems, resources, and services and users use them. Furthermore, "users (or customers) know best," so we should develop and improve systems primarily through user feedback.
But maybe it’s time to move on from piecemeal innovations or improvements for customers, and consider people as whole persons and their places in "community." A customer orientation implies short-term interactions while people in communities are there for the long haul. In this episode, the Libraries Lead team considers this alternative approach and discusses what this might look like for all types of libraries as well as the major information and social media systems used extensively today.

In the beginning ... of our dot com digital age (roughly from the late 1970s) ... there was a expectation that information and computer technology (ICT) would be a boon to society. Technology could be liberating rather than oppressing. The hope was that new products and services (e.g., personal computers, the Internet, the WWW, search engines, smart phones, social media) would lead to a more equitable, open, and free society. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Instead, the pervasive goal in ICT became monetization—to make a buck and to maximize profits as much and as quickly as possible.

In this episode we’re not going to argue whether this is good or bad thing. We accept that the dominant characteristic in ICT was and still is the drive for commercial triumph. And with an information economy estimated to be around $5.5 trillion today (and growing), there is success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

Instead, we want to examine the implications of all this profit-seeking in the information sector. We’ve become aware of a disturbing trend: the decline of the quality in online products and services over time. This phenomenon is described in a Wikipedia entry as “Enshittification” where vendors and entrepreneurs initially “create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders.”

How big of a concern is enshittification in relation to the nature and quality of information resources and services in the commercial and public sectors? And of course, do we see this trend in the library world as well?

May 26, 2021
Dave Lankes & Mike Eisenberg

In the last episode, Mike ranted about his frustrations and hours spent in trying to reach a human being for assistance with airline reservations, prescriptions, and insurance. In this episode, we dive deeper into the topic of help and information services of all kinds– human, mediated (telephone, digital), online. What’s going on with consumer help and what’s the status of Q&A, Ask a Librarian, and reference services in library land?

In Wazzup, Dave describes the master class in the new librarianship he’s part of with the National Library School of France, and Mike shares concerns stemming from a disturbing text from a friend related to vaccines loaded with mis- and dis-information that raised all kinds of issues about the credibility of information and the undermining of quality of information. Dave’s Awesome Library Thingy spotlights the Toronto Public Library and Pam Ryan, Director, Service Development & Innovation, and their cutting-edge information literacy classes in machine learning, algorithms, public data, AI, and more.

References & Resources

École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de l’Information et des Bibliothèques: the national library school of France., https://www.enssib.fr/
Angela Craig interview (May 12, 2021), Libraries Lead in the New Normal, Podcast Episode 7. https://www.acechicagoevents.com/libraries-lead-episode-7

Ewen, Lara (May 3, 2021). “Healthy Distance, Telemedicine brings house calls to local libraries,” American Libraries. p. 14. online: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2021/05/03/healthy-distance-libraries-telemedicine/

Radford, M., Costello, L., & Montague, K. (2021). Surging virtual reference services: COVID-19 a game-changer. College & Research Libraries News, 82(3), 106. doi: https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.82.3.106
Toronto Public Library https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/

Digital Innovation Series, Toronto Public Library https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/search.jsp?N=37867+4288098632

Credits
Audio, Production, and Streaming Services:
Yoni Yemini, ACE Chicago Events

February 3, 2021
57 minutes
Dave Lankes & Mike Eisenberg

In this second episode (and our last simultaneous broadcast as part of the Publishers Weekly Skillset Podcast), Mike is all upset about how difficult it was to get an appointment for a Covid vaccine. “This should be a very manageable information problem! Why can’t we set up an easy system for everyone and anyone – using people, databases, systems, and the telephone?” Dave agrees and explains how libraries can support the rollout along with more long-term emergency support services and resources. And, as in every episode, they share “wazzup” and interesting bits from recent library news.
58 minutes

References & Resources

Kerlinger, F. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Institute for Museum and Library Services, US Federal Government. https://www.imls.gov/

Slijkerman, D., & Vlimmeren, T. . (2021). Living libraries: The house of the community around the world.
[A collection of essays on the changing role of public libraries in society.] available free online: https://www.bibliotheekutrecht.nl/living-libraries.html

DeForge, Jeanette (Updated Jan 29, 2021; Posted Jan 28, 2021) "Springfield librarians, elder affairs workers will help residents register online for COVID vaccines." Mass Live. https://www.masslive.com/news/2021/01/springfield-librarians-elder-affairs-workers-will-assist-residents-in-registering-online-for-covid-vaccines.html

Staeger, Steve (February 1, 2021). "The ‘vaccine whisperer’ helps find appointments for seniors." 9 News, Colorado. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/vaccine-whisperer-covid-coronavirus-appointments/73-807a2efd-f20c-4a86-a826-48dd176cf593

Credits
Yoni Yemini from ACE Chicago Events

January 20, 2021
109 minutes
Dave Lankes & Mike Eisenberg

This is the first episode of our new podcast - Libraries Lead in the New Normal. We aim for a wild conversation between two close friends who share a passion for all things library & information but frequently disagree on specifics.

This episode which was recorded in January 2021 and simultaneously broadcast at that time as part of the Publishers Weekly Skillset Podcast. We originally intended to talk about the pandemic and the emerging new normal. But, the January 6 insurrection and the Biden inauguration took precedent. Dave was particularly moved and wrote a passionate essay that appeared in Publishers Weekly on how libraries and librarians must do more than be repositories of knowledge or passive providers of information services. We must be players in securing a more perfect union through active engagement in civic and educational discourse and building and providing equitable and accessible information systems and institutions.

This episode also includes 2 special segments: “Wazzup” lately and “Awesome Library Thingy” to highlight some amazing libraries and librarians. These segments will be regular features of all episodes.

References & Resources

Lankes, R. D (Jan 22, 2011). “How Libraries Can Help Us Make a More Perfect Union,” Publishers Weekly Online. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/85366-can-libraries-make-for-a-more-perfect-union.html

Bowles, Nellie (Jan. 14, 2021, Updated Jan. 17, 2021). “They Can’t Leave the Bay Area Fast Enough,” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/technology/san-francisco-covid-work-moving.html

Credits
Yoni Yemini from ACE Chicago Events