“Choose one of the resources above and write a 400 word analysis that addresses the following issues: What is the potential for the future of an organisation you are familiar with? What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?”
Source: University of Lincoln, UK
In my chosen article, Saloi (2021) details the best practice for implementing and using drones to deliver library materials followed by examples of how libraries are currently using this technology.
Delivering library books to a member’s house is not a new concept, bookmobiles, volunteer couriers, and even horseback have been used over the years and libraries including Edmonton Public Library, Dubai Public Library and New York Public Library are all early adopters.
When looking at Libraries Tasmania, drones would be helpful in delivering items to remote communities, yet it seems unlikely in the near future as there are only two drone courier companies approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia, Wing (https://wing.com/) and Swoop Aero (https://swoop.aero/) neither of which operate in Tasmania.
An alternative to partnering with a courier is for libraries themselves to purchase the equipment and become a Remote Pilot Operator. This is the stuff of Sci-Fi books; librarians turned drone pilots, delivering books to isolated landscapes! There would be benefits delivering items this way, they are much faster and more environmentally friendly than a road-based, petrol fueled vehicle service (Wing, n.d.), not to mention the image upgrade librarians would receive.
As for the impact on library professionals, the topic of using drones to deliver books brings up the question of library access and equity; How do we get information into the hands of our community members within our budget and staffing restraints? I have some questions…
Would it be more beneficial for a library to fund a mobile book van, allowing for the transportation or a larger number of items and also providing recipients with the human connection?
If a physical delivery service is impossible due to lack of road infrastructure, natural disasters or another pandemic, would drones delivering physical items be the next best solution?
Or would it be a better to spend the money digitising more of the collection and renegotiating e-book licenses to allow more copies to be available? If this was the case the library would also need to consider that not everyone has access to the technology or skills to access e-resources, should libraries then be loaning laptops, e-readers and portable internet access to allow equity of services?
In the end, it all comes back to access and how do we, as information professionals, facilitate our community members of all locations and skills, to access the information they require. (400 words).
References
Saloi, A. (2021). Drone in Libraries for Document Delivery:” Flying Documents”. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1-14.
Elassar, A. (2024). Google’s Wing drones are dropping off books to students in Virginia who can’t go to the library because of the coronavirus. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/15/us/google-wing-library-books-drone-virginia-christiansburg-trnd/index.html?utm_source=twCNNi&utm_content=2020-06-15T19%3A50%3A08&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social
McGraw, E. (2017, June 21). Horse-riding librarians were the great depression’s bookmobiles. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horse-riding-librarians-were-great-depression-bookmobiles-180963786/
Catherine, such an interesting and thought provoking blog.
Drones seem to be the progressive future, but is the technology suitably sophisticated to travel those distances? It is important to be able to cater for all customers, and I am one of those people that fondly recalls using a book bus because I like hardcopy reading over digital.
I recall reading a section by Agostina et al. (2020), that applies here: they spoke about nothing being able to replace a real museum, or library in your case, but the future model to foster appreciation will ‘be different and strongly rooted in the use of digital technology.’
https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2020.1790029
I’d never considered the use of drones to deliver library materials before reading your blog, and I too wonder if budgets would be better allocated to digitising the collection for greater access. This would be a more effective approach for school libraries, but it does too raise issues of equitable access. In rural communities in particular, not every student has access to devices or the internet needed to be able to loan books digitally. I know that some libraries, including the State Library of NSW, have the hardware available for patrons to borrow to access e-resources, but the viability of this in small school libraries where budgets are already often stretched to the limit is something I question. It seems like the digital divide just keeps growing and growing for our country kids!