Blog Post #1

Kochtanel and Matthews (2002). Ch.1. The evolution of LIS and enabling technologies.  In Library Information Systems pp.3-12.

In this article, the authors discuss the start of LIS and the technologies that helped spur on this informational revolution since the 1930s.  Four different eras have encompassed the span of ILS existence: the Systems Era, the Era of Functionality, Focus on the End User, and the Globalization of Information Resources.  In the Systems Era, software and hardware were being developed to help process this information, putting technology at the forefront of informational studies.  The Era of Functionality focused on getting the most out of newly developed softwares in order to make the library a more efficient machine.  Focus on the End User put the patron at the head of the list of priorities when developing new technologies.  What does the customer need?  How can we deliver the product to the customer more efficiently?  The Globalization of Information Resources has erupted with the globalization of the internet.  People all over the world have access to the internet, so information is at our fingertips at any moment.

I think that the biggest idea that I took away from the article is that the library world and its technologies are constantly evolving.  In the last 70 years we have seen technology develop more quickly than any other time in history, and libraries have gone under dramatic changes because of it.  I think that this means that librarians need to be ahead of the game in following the development of new technologies that will directly impact library functionality, rather than wait for new technologies to develop and see what happens.


Arnold Hirshon (2008).  Environmental scan: A report on trends and technologies affecting libraries.

This article addresses the different issues that arise in the library world as new technologies re developed and accepted into general use by the public.  With the recent downfall of the world economy, people's ideas about what is important are changing.  Along with Generation Y, people put more value behind technology and have different expectations about information gathering than in the past.  Privacy is becoming easier to violate because we put more information out there, but we do not know how to protect it.  Mobile computing is becoming the main way people access information online.  Generation Y puts a different value on the library as an institution because of the evolution of e-books and online texts. The library needs to understand its new functionalities as a physical space and in the virtual world.

What I have taken away from this article is that the younger generations actually think differently than previous generations of library users.  Because of technological resources, we now process information differently than our predecessors.  I think that university and public libraries need to become more adaptable to the technologies that are developing so rapidly, but they also need to realize that there are some ways of doing things that are still tried and true.  I love thinking of the library as a quiet sanctuary for books and people who want to learn, but this definition is changing, and I am going to have to adapt with each new definition in order to remain relevant as a professional.

My question for this week is: will there be a backlash against all of these changes based on technological developments?  Will people experience a digital overload and want to return to older ways of processing information?