Top Technology Trends

The LITA Top Technology Trends panel discussed current, imminent, and long-range developments, products, user expectations, and implications of technology as it relates to libraries.

The full video of the panel discussion is available at http://litablog.org/category/top-technology-trends/ and the Twitter feed is at #ttt10. (It was really fun sitting in the room watching the panel and following the tweets in real time.) Some highlights:

** the iPad was a popular topic. Its touch screen means using it is a tactile experience - which is similar to reading a print book. The panelist mentioned the "collaborativeness of the surface" and that kids are coming to expect touch technology everywhere (TVs, car dashboards).

** library designers need to think about lighting: touch devices are held perpendicular to the ceiling and overhead lighting reflects and makes viewing difficult. As more and more patrons are bringing their own devices into the library, this could become a real issue.

** "stop being the grocery store and become the kitchen"

** "the line is blurring between information about a thing and the thing [itself]" -- Joan Frye Williams

** Jason Griffey: a year from now e-readers will cost less than $50. What will this mean for how people access and use information? There is technology out there now that allows "riffing" of books - just fan the pages of a book in front of your mobile device, and the entire content is captured, OCRed, and digitized. Google Translate makes it available in any language you want. A student could come in and "rif" the Encyclopedia Britannica. This will be reality in 3-5 years; we cannot avoid it. How will we handle it?

** Monique Sendze: users are willingly giving up personal data to sites like Facebook because they feel it enhances their experience. Libraries are so used to maintaining strict privacy standards; we purge data constantly and keep the bare minimum on file. But we could start mining and using our data in new ways. "What will patrons give up in regards to privacy to get a better library experience?"

** Joan Frye Williams: we are on the verge of an "information spill" - and it could be as damaging as the bp oil spill.