EDITOR'S NOTES
Building a Useful, Needful Future
by Dick Kaser
Our December issue is usually about futures. But, as Suzanne LaPierre points out in her feature on assistive technology, we humans are not very good about actually predicting the outcomes for any given technology. When we design online systems with an assistive premise, we may think we are trying to reach the disabled community, she observes, but we often wind up pleasing everyone when we introduce technologies that make information access easier.
Lifting the barriers to access may mean that libraries need to get around the esoteric complexity of MARC-based ILSs. At least, that’s what staffers at Spokane Public Library (SPL) think. Deputy library director Caris O’Malley shares his vision for a new library platform that starts with user needs for accessing the entire collection. Learn how SPL is using the open source software FOLIO to power its new ILS by becoming an early adopter of a platform that may prove to be in your interest too.
Voice assistants are already here, and many of us use them. How might they help library workers manage their time better? In a series of workshops, Neil Dixon asked his staff to consider the possibilities, challenges, and imperatives for a future library workplace that includes AI, using the ubiquitous smart speaker as the focal point for discussions. Dixon shares his group’s observations and tells you how to emulate this strategic planning exercise.
And speaking of ubiquitous consumer tech that may soon see a library uptick, Tom Adamich suggests that now is a good time for public libraries to hop on board the streaming-media-on-demand trend. He provides a checklist of things to consider as you decide whether to offer or expand streaming media circulation.
The path to your library’s tech-enabled future may not always be a straight projection from today’s trends, but as the librarians writing for this issue attest, those who use technology to address user needs and meet public demand will surely never lose their way.
Happy holidays, and see you next year.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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