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Libraries in a Postliterate Society

So, what is a postliterate society and is it one word or two? Wiki gave an interesting definition but was gracious enough to say that it was not supported. Stephen's Lighthouse refers to it in a quick review of another article. The more I delved into this the deeper I got (ok, that was obvious), but it does make me wonder.

In the article that got this started for me, Doug Johnson does a really good job of pointing out how libraries are swinging in to serving a post literate society. I thought the quote from Plato was just perfect. Apparently, the written word was the new fangled fad of the day and Plato could see where it was going to soften up the minds of those who use it (isn't that what has been said about the book, radio, tv, and the internet? Hulu has a commercial based on that right now!).

I am leaving you with Plato's thoughts to ponder and decide which side of the literate you are on?

In Phaedrus, Plato decries an "alternate" communication technology:

"The fact is that this invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it. They will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written, calling things to mind no longer from within themselves by their own unaided powers, but under the stimulus of external marks that are alien to themselves."

Doug Johnson says that , "The Greek philosopher was, of course, dissing the new technology of his day: writing. Plato might well approve of our return to an oral tradition in a digital form. But his quote also demonstrates that sometimes our greatest fears become our greatest blessings."

Green Dreams

Being on the Green Team we get to talk about a lot of things staff has suggested we (CML) do to be green. One of the suggestions is optional receipts for customers (just like at the ATM or gas pump). So I was thinking....wouldn't it be neat if we could have some sort of software that would allow the checkout process to link to your cell phone so that when you pushed the "finish" button your due dates and titles would show up on your phone's calendar and would send you an alarm a couple of days before items were due? Maybe that is an RFID thing. Most (well maybe many) people have cell phones or PDA's and this would eliminate quite a few receipts and help customers keep on track without having to keep up with receipts.

Just a thought :)

ReferenceUSA Screencast

Tech Video Teaching

I ran across a blog posting on PC World last week highlighting a screencasting application called Screencast-O-Matic. It's fairly simple to use (you need Java installed on your machine), and if you have a mic attached to your computer (or an internal like the one on my laptop) you can easily add sound to the hi-def video you create. If I have enough time, I might start creating some screencasts for some of our resources. Why?

Last week I had a customer that regularly needs assistance dealing with tech problems. She needed to access businesses in the area in a particular field. At first I forgot that Reference USA was the place to go, but once I remembered, we were off and running. Only problem was that demonstrating the resource several times still isn't enough for it to sink in when someone is learning for the first time how to navigate all the options. Maybe a quick screencast saved to a file-sharing site and the link e-mailed to the customer would do? I found this, but if the video doesn't show the steps the customer needs, its not nearly as useful. Customers need to work with a product to learn its logic, but when they're not as tech-savvy, should we really say: "Here's how you use this. Let me know if you have any questions," and flit off into the stacks or resume browsing that never-ending "stack" of Firefox tabs on the computer desktop?

Buses in Columbus

You know as much as we fuss about the bus system in Columbus, when you know what they are working with it makes a big difference in your attitude (or better yet, change that line to first person for me).

I attended a town meeting with COTA reps, Jim Hutchinson, Belinda Taylor and Bill Lhota among others. COTA has 750 employees (less than the library) of which 430 are Bus Operators, and 280 fixed-route buses (not counting special services like Mainstream and other services they provide).

Most major cities in Ohio receive at least one cent millage from taxes to support them. COTA had been running on a quarter of a penney until the temporary increase to half (yea- half a penny). The more we talked about this, the more I wanted to start a penny campaign - give the man a penny!!!! geez! I suspect COTA could use 2 pennies just to catch up and plan for the future. And yes, they are interested in light rail as well.

Future of the Library User Experience Webinar

I attended a webinar on the above subject a couple of weeks ago (time flies when you're busy!), and although I took some notes, I had more thoughts than actual notes. For instance, something in the discussion sent me on this wave:

I visualize a big screen on a large wall of a library with up to seating for 50 people all watching that screen and seeing something different (no, its not the drugs!). Not only that, but not being able to see what anyone else is seeing or hear what they are hearing. They are watching movies, TV shows, documentaries, whatever. They have plugged in to a multi-viewer device with a media format (DVD, stick, whatever) that they borrowed from the library. They have a personal listening device that is associated with the device they borrowed and it can accommodate 2 people (a great date!).

OK, the next thought that popped into my mind came after a discussion about the accessibility of the digitally produced book. I wondered what is the publishing industry's take on this and how will this effect our bottom line? If the actual production of a book (paper, printing, binding, shipping, etc) is eliminated for digitally prepared items, and since that just becomes a computer storage issue, could we either:
a. afford more copies for the same cost of a real book vs virtual/digital book
b. provide multiple access to a single digital copy w/out increasing more cost and thus provide a really free library since downloaded items fade away automatically when they are due, cannot be taken so are not lost, cannot be manipulated, therefore not damaged (although they may be copied but without affecting the copy loaned).........providing a better library experience for the user?

What's your take on these thoughts?