Subject Area: “Library Hacks”
Type: 1-day Conference
Length: 7 hours
Level: Library Technicians and Librarians
Organisers: Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)
Presenters: Multiple
Format: Multiple 15-minute sessions with 3 alternative 20-minute workshops of up to 20 people
technology-in-libraries
Thoughts for the future
Technology column: Is there a drone in your library’s future?
The use of drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a library environment might seem unheard of yet looking back so too was the use of 3D printers up until recently.Their usage is a unique opportunity for library staff in term of gaining new knowledge and skills, collaborating with different parts of the community.
Similar to libraries themselves, drones comes in a variety of types specialising in different requirements depending on the user and the proposed function required. Some of the common features discussed by Fernandez are:
- The agricultural industry in the assistance of monitoring crops, distributing pesticide and feed drop and potentially scare off larger pests to protect crops and livestock.
- Military and law enforcement usages for surveillance and defencive capacities
- Entertainment industry where they provide new and previously unattainable angles for filmmakers and directors and location scouts.
- Educational or STEM groups seeking to engage students with robotic, engineering or coding elements involved with the development or construction of drones.(Fernandez, 2016).
It is perhaps the last point where academic libraries have the most potential to enhance people’s experience, knowledge and potential first use of handling a drone. Providing courses through local libraries in partnership with local employment agencies could allow for greater employment for people seeking employment with Livestock monitoring in real time local forestry tree counting or geological observation for the mining industry (ABC News, 2016).
The potential importance of drones for delivering information of physical library resources to patrons with movement restrictions or mobility issues. If this can be incorporated with technology such as facial recognition on drones to identify patrons to assist in remote borrowing or returning of items or equipment to assist patrons help stay connected with their local library (Anonymous, 2016).
As seen with the current Covid 19 pandemic, libraries have risen to the occasion by providing activities such as online trivia, book and movie clubs and reading challenges online for patrons to participate (Australian Library and Information Association, 2020).
If future situations rise again and libraries are forced to their physical collections would it be feasible to consider the use of drones for physical delivery or inter library loans. Is there a potential for use for patrons to use a drone for remotely viewing the stack of a collection. Previously the thought of patrons being able to stream movies in their own home via their local library would have been unheard of. Libraries continue to embrace new technology, it will be of interest to see how our profession embraces drone technology and moves forward with it in the immediate future.
Image Credit Pxfuel
References
ABC news, (2016). Agricultural drone jobs taking off in northern Australia. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-12-13/agricultural-drone-jobs-taking-off-in-northern-australia/8103834
Australian Library and Information Association, (2020). COVID-19 and Australian public libraries: interim report 30 April. Retrieved from https://read.alia.org.au/file/1354/download?token=a5rDrE9C
Fernandez, P. (2016). “Through the looking glass: Envisioning new library technologies” Drones. Library Hi Tech News, 33(7), 1-5.
Anonymous. (2016). Emerging Tech Trends Require Change Management. Library Administrator’s Digest, 51(5), 3-4.
Virtual and augmented reality
When discussing Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) it is important to note the clear distinction that physical hard makes between the two. VR is dependent on use of assistive technology such as an Oculus Rift headset that enables a digitally simulated environment for the user to interact with, whereas AR is an interactive experience with real world surroundings superimposed with computer generated graphics (Green, 2018).
As with most modern technology a large testing board to long term successful implementation into everyday society is how it fairs with adaptation from the gaming community. The best examples of AR in a gaming environment would be the Pokemon GO application played on phones and tablets. This popular game allows users to catch monsters using players’ phones with real world backgrounds (pokemongolive.com, n.d.).
Similarly the computer game Minecraft has adapted the VR technology to enhance the open world crafting and exploration game to a new level by allowing players to now envelop themselves within a 3D environment (minecraft.net, 2020).
Image credit: Pxfuel.com
VR & VA in GLAM environment
Museums and libraries have adapted to use both of these technologies to enhance their user experiences and engagement.
The University of Newcastle has produced a fully immersive experience allowing users to tour three of the campus libraries to view specific area or to zoom out and view the different levels from a doll house perspective (newcastle.edu.au, 2020).
With the current Covid 19 situation there is no better time to be able to take a virtual tour of some of the best known museums of the world. From the British Museum in London to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, these informative interactive tours are perfect for both escaping the confines of your house as well as immersing yourself in the cultural history of another country (timeout.com, 2020).
The National Museum of Singapore currently has an exhibition of work by William Farquhar with the installation transforming his drawings into three dimensional animations (nhb.gov.sg, 2020).
The inclusion of such technology within the GLAM industry is an indicator of this technology staying for the long haul. If the computing and technology industry that spawned this technology is anything to go by, it will be interesting to see how it evolves over the next decade.
References
Greene, D., & Groenendyk, M. (2018). Virtual and Augmented Reality as Library Services. Computers in Libraries, 38(1), 4-7.
Minecraft, (2020). Explore minecraft in VR. Retrieved from https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/vr/
National museum of Singapore, (2020). Story of the forest. Retrieved from https://www.nhb.gov.sg/nationalmuseum/our-exhibitions/exhibition-list/story-of-the-forest
Pokemongolive, (n.d.). Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from https://pokemongolive.com/en/faq/
University of Newcastle, (2020). Virtual tours. Retrieved from
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/library/access/places-and-spaces/virtual-tours
The influence of technology on society
How technology shapes society
From the first text based bulletin boards created by Ward Christensen and Randy Suess in 1978 to the massive platforms today such as Facebook and WeChat, it could be argued that social networking has had an irreversible effect on society. It has become an insatiable tool and companion for many an estimated two and a half billion Facebook users alone at time of writing (internetlivestats.com, n.d.).
Socially and economically it has changed the way people communicate and retrieve information and entertainment and interact with one another.
Nowhere has the change been more evident in terms of its effect than within the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) industry. Libraries in particular have been quick to take on the new technology.
Enhancing the way we as professionals engage with our clients which allows them wider freedom to interact and access information and experience of connecting with their local library.
Libraries have embraced social networking technology such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Instagram and YouTube to enhance their online presence.
It has created a new avenue of providing new online training experiences and enhanced the information needs of the community of those in remote or socially disadvantaged areas. Additionally, it has opened opportunities for accessibility with the capacity of most social networks being compliant under the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative through providing audio transcripts, close captioning or tools like alternative image or audio descriptions as immediate examples (W3.org, 2018).
Social networking can not only be an effective communication tool, but also serves as a decisive business tool, especially in terms of employment. As Segal discusses, over 70 percent of potential employers will review a person’s social media (Hhrm.org, 2020).
The flow on effect can also create a negative impact on the course of employment as seen in 2018 when director James Gunn was fired when old tweets resurfaced with alleged jokes of a highly offensive nature (ABC News, 2018).
Looking forward there are a three thing that will need to be considered for both organisation and individuals alike when engaging with social networking tools successfully:
- Personal brand, which according to Peters, “everyone has the power to be their own brand and it is each person’s responsibility to promote their brand” (fast company.com, 1997).
- Privacy, both for organisations as well as the individuals who they represent or use their products
- Accessibility, in the rush to move forward we must be inclusive and not leave anyone behind
References
ABC News. (2018). Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn fired by Disney after tweets joking about rape, paedophilia resurface. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-21/james-gunn-fired-from-guardians-of-the-galaxy-over-tweets/10020902
Internetlivestats.com. (n.d.). Number of Facebook users. Retrieved from https://www.internetlivestats.com/
Peters, T. (1997). The brand called you. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you
Segal, J. (2020). Legal trends social media use in hiring:assessing the risks. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0914-social-media-hiring.aspx
W3.org. (2018). Accessibility. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility