What role does technology play in the relationship information agencies develop with their users?
By implementing technology in an ever-changing and growing dynamic, the services and resources of the library maintain their relevance and meet the complex and changing needs of the userbase (Gul & Bano, 2019, p. 764). Three libraries are referred to below: Albury Wodonga Health Library, Paris Opera Library and Lake Tuggeranong College Library. Each library is unique in its needs and technology uses as each serves different users with different resources. However, the three libraries are united in that they represent a larger truth: technology is essential in catering to the specific demands of the local facility, to create and maintain relationships between the library staff and the community of users.
Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) Library is a specialised library open to health professionals and students on clinical placement and those within the catchment area. The clinical, educational and research needs of these patrons are catered to by the library (Albury Wodonga Health, n.d., para. 1). The solo-librarian Anna Griffith manages the health service which includes two hospitals and fifteen off-site locations and over 2500 staff (Griffith, 2021, para. 1). The professional services librarian connects professionals with the resources and information to fulfil their jobs. Technology is an integral tool in delivering services to the userbase.
Technology is used to communicate between the librarian and user, directly by the user and by the librarian behind the scenes to facilitate services and announcements to the user. The physical collection is maintained in one room. Library computers can be used by users, as well as a borrowing kiosk for hardcopy materials. In three years since the librarian has developed the online portal using OVID there has been a shift from overreliance on hardcopy materials to using the library databases. In a field such as medicine it is essential to maintain up-to-date information for evidence-based practice and this is best done using soft-copy resources (Griffith, 2020, 4:32). Other recent studies of university health libraries have also demonstrated how digitally focused libraries with technology-centric facilities were able to successfully transition to a completely online approach necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of technology is integral to demonstrating the value of these services in these uncertain times (Weeks et al., p. 356).
In other special libraries, such as the Paris Opera Library, technology is still instrumental in providing services to users, however, technology is used behind the scenes by the information professionals and not directly between users and library staff. Mathilde Serraille is head of the Opéra national de Paris library. In an online lecture, Serraille revealed details of her role. Technology is vital to organise budgets, negotiate contracts and shipments of music scores. Serraille must liaise between key orchestra members such as the conductor, head musicians, music publishers and partner libraries to loan and share the correct resources in a timely manner. As the sheet music is rented and is subject to strict copyright laws, the library collection is in print format and relies heavily on hard copies and photocopying. A music library’s collection and repertoire are key to the success of the Opera or musical society, as such, many collections are kept closely guarded, private and offline.
Furthermore, musical annotations, which are written in pencil, give life and individual flair to the performance. Some annotations of each program are kept by the society to archive how it was performed and the rest are meticulously erased before returning to the publisher or leaser (Bell & Pugin, 2019, p. 49). Technological developments in the industry will enhance the ability to digitize and automate extraction of handwritten annotations thereby making historical and institutional performance practices more widely available (p. 58). Furthermore, there is potential to have ‘users interactively and dynamically visualize different annotation sets that were made for the same underlying score edition, enabling interactive critical editions of performance scores’ (p.57). However, navigating the difficult copyright landscape of published works continues to be a difficult issue, even more so in future if orchestral and music libraries utilise digital score presentation methods such as the use of iPads for performances. Managing these copyright dilemmas now and into the Digital Age is necessary to future proof these specialised libraries (Buttler, 2012, p. 291).
In Australian School Libraries, technology is key to establishing, growing, and maintaining a healthy relationship between the library and the students and staff it serves. The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) describes the three-pronged role of the Teacher Librarian. Teacher Librarians must be curriculum leaders, information specialists and information services managers (ASLA, n.d., para. 4).
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) outline Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a General Capability that must be taught across all curriculum areas ensuring that students learn to safely utilise the digital technologies available to them (ACARA, n.d., para. 1). Teacher Librarians as information specialists, have the responsibility to educate students in the General Capabilities, vaccinating them against the media messages directly influencing them (Mehrad et. al., 2020, p. 18).
Thus, Technology is used extensively in Tuggeranong Lake College Library. An information fluency framework is followed to ensure students can use ICT resources to complete assignments and assessments ethically. Online tools such as Google Classroom and web-blogs are used to promote the library and allow creation of professionally designed posters and infographics to display within the library. Technology is also used within the library and school grounds and online to keep students engaged as well as advocating for library use. School Libraries like Tuggeranong Lake College must keep up-to-date with technological trends to maintain their relevance to student life and provide for the ever-changing needs of their users. Therefore, technology is essential to creating a strong relationship between the library and its customers.
The Library and Information Sciences field encompasses a wide range of information agencies across the government and private sectors. However varied these roles are, it is clear that technology plays an integral role in the relationship these libraries develop with their users. Whether technology is used directly by the user, to communicate between librarians, users or stakeholders, or whether the technology is used primarily by the librarians, it is an essential part of the service offered by information agencies. As libraries and information technology functions become more closely aligned, so too must the librarian. For librarians to be proactive members of change, they must continue to advocate for and accept these technological changes with open arms. This will ensure the continued development of the Library Field and the relationship with the userbase (Murray, 2016, p. 197).
References
Albury Wodonga Health. (n.d.). Library. Retrieved September 20, 2021 from https://www.awh.org.au/for-health-professionals/research/library
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). General capabilities. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/
Australian School Library Association. (n.d.). What is a teacher librarian? https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian
Bell, E. & Pugin, L. (2019). Heuristic and supervised approaches to handwritten annotation extraction for musical score images. International journal on digital libraries, 20(1), 49-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-018-0249-7
Buttler, D. K. (2012). Intimacy gone awry: Copyright and special collections. Journal of Library Administration, 52(3-4), 279-293. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2012.684506
Griffith, A. (2021). Anna Griffith (Albury Wodonga Health Library) [Forum post]. SICS-VSV-202160, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_59598_1&content_id=_4575792_1&mode=reset
Griffith, A. (2020, August 12). AWH Library overview for students [Video]. Loom. https://www.loom.com/share/3d71d40837564801923c49a2cebcb806
Gul, S. & Bano, S. (2019). Smart libraries: An emerging an innovative technological habitat of 21st century. Electronic Library, 37(5), 764-783. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-02-2019-0052
Mehrad, J., Eftekhar, Z., & Goltaji, M. (2020). Vaccinating users against the hypodermic needle theory of social media: Libraries and improving media literacy. International Journal of Information Center for Science and Technology, 18(1), 17-24. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340998019_Vaccinating_Users_Against_the_Hypodermic_Needle_Theory_of_Social_Media_Libraries_and_Improving_Media_Literacy
Murray, T. E. (Column Editor). (2016). The forecast for special libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 56(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2015.1124699
Weeks, A., Houk, K. M., Nugent, R. L., Corn, M., & Lackey, M. (2020). UNLV Health Sciences Library’s initial response to the COVID 19 pandemic: How a versatile environment, online technologies, and liaison expertise prepared library faculty in supporting its user communities. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 39(4), 344-358. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2020.1826197