1. FrankenLibraries:
or Frankentopia
The Jackson Lecture
Stephen Abram
Gale Cengage Learning
Illinois State University Sept. 27, 2012

4. Library Megatrends

5. Trends Differ by Library Sector
All will be affected to a greater or lesser degree by these trends and the
impact will be different but all are relevant to:
• Public Libraries
• Academic Research Libraries
• Community College Libraries
• School Libraries
• Specialized Libraries
• Consortia

6. Content Fragmentation
Digitization’s real impact – non-fiction
Format
Print, ePUB, PDF, Kindle, etc. etc.
CD, DVD, USB, etc. etc.
Streaming
Licenses, Open Access, Creative Commons, etc. etc.
eBooks
eJournals
eContent
Copyright Issues (NatGeo, Tasini, TPP, ACTA, SOPA, etc. etc.)
Author Lawsuits
Citation fragmentation

7. Beyond Text
Text
Graphics & Charts
Formulae
Pictures
Maps
Video
Audio
Gamification
Deep Data Mining
Sharing – notes, highlights, reviews, opinions, correcti0ns, commentary
Assessments
Soundtracks
Etc. etc.

8. Walled Gardens
ILS
CMS
Cloud(s)
Device dependencies
Format dependencies (e.g. Kindle or PDF)
Amazon
Apple
ADVICE . . .

9. Learning Object Diversification
and Fragmentation
Textbooks
eLearning
Learning Management Systems
Cohort Learning Environments
Presentation Systems
Virtual Conference Environment
Personal Learning Environments
Collaboration Software
MOOCs

10. End User Fragmentation
Teens / Post-Millennials
Millennials
Other demographics
Business versus Consumer
The Device Divide
Mobility
Haves and Have-nots

11. Search Fragmentation
Consumer Search
Specialized Search
Professional Search
Semantic, Sentiment, Suggestion Search etc.
Mobile search
Social search
Augmented Reality
SEO
SMO
Content Spam
Geo-location

12. Technology Fragmentation
Feature Phones
Smartphones
Tablets
Laptops
Desktops
Gaming stations
Television
E-Readers
Internet of Things
Browsers

15. The polarization of discussion
Dogmatic vs. Professional positions
on: eBooks, access, copyright, etc.

16. Black & White

21. Recognize key shifts

22. Academic Research Libraries
eLearning
Repositories
Content Archipelagos
LibGuides
Patron-driven acquisitions
Information Fluency
Demarcation between Undergrad, Grad and Faculty/Staff strategies
Copyright compliance
E-Coursepacks and e-Reserves
Strategic budgeting
Partnerships

23. Community College and Undergrad
Information Literacy
Distance education and eLearning
Textbooks, Reserves, Coursepacks, e-all
MOOCs
Mobility
Collections for new degrees and certifications

24. School Libraries
Common Core
21st Century Learning
Future of the textbook
Scaffolded Information Literacy / Fluency
Filters
Staff and Faculty relationships
Classroom pages

25. Specialized Libraries
Intranets
MS SharePoint
Relationship building
Embedded Librarianship

26. Public Libraries
Recommendations (LibraryThing for Libraries, BiblioCommons, BookPsychic
(Portland (Maine) PL)
eBook issues and device training
Community Glue
Economic Impact
Patron-driven acquisitions
Experience Portals
Programs
Partnerships
Education and Learning
Literacy of all kinds

27. Consortia: Next Step Cooperation
DPLA
Library Renewal
EveryLibrary Advocacy PAC
OCLC Linked Data
CULC eBook Project
3M e-books (CALIFA / Douglas County initiatives)
Cloud initiatives

28. So what is the answer?
Where are the real pain points?

30. Grocery Stores

31. Grocery Stores

32. Grocery Stores

33. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

34. Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

35. Meals

36. What is an
EXPERIENCE?
What is a library experience?
What differentiates a library experience from a transaction?
What differentiates public libraries from Google/Bing?

37. The Evolution
of Answers

38. Why do people ask
questions?
Is your library experience conceptually organized around answers and programs?
Or collections, technology and buildings?

39. Why do people ask questions?
 Who, What, When, Where
 How & Why
 Data – Information – Knowledge - Behavior
 To Learn or to Know
 To Acquire Information, Clarify, Tune
 To Decide, to Solve, to Choose, to Delay
 To Interview, Delve, Interact, Progress
 To Entertain or Socialize
 To Reduce Fear
 To Help, Aid, Cure, Be a Friend
 To Win A Bet

40. What are your top 10-20
questions?
What is the service
portfolio model that goes
with those?

41. Reference Facets of the
Library of Virginia Story
September 2010 Survey Data
62 of 91 LVA library systems (68%)
Thank you!

42. Relative Patron Interest in Various Areas
Finding People / Biographies
Choosing a School, Program/Degree, College or University / College Planning
History Studies (Civil War, WW2, etc.)
World Cultures/Understanding Our World
Small and Medium-sized Business Support
Entrepreneurship and Consulting
Adult Literacy / ESL
Parenting and Child Development
Business. Leadership and Management
Book Clubs / Community Reading / Summer Reading
Coming to America or our Community (Immigration, Moving)
General Reference / Quick Answer Questions (e.g. telephone …
Retirement and Seniors Services
Religion and spirituality
Personal Finance and Investments / Financial Literacy
Supporting College credits, Distance Education, and Adult Continuing Education
Travel and Vacation, Tourism Support
Reading Choices and recommendations, books & authors
Careers (jobs, counseling, etc.)
Self-help/personal development
Government Programs, Services and Taxation
Technology Skills (software, hardware, web) Top 13
Homework Help (grade school)
Consumer reviews (Choosing a car, appliance, etc.)
Local History
Hobbies, Games and Gardening
Legal Questions (including family law, divorce, adoption, etc)
Test prep (SAT, ACT, occupational tests, etc. etc.)
Genealogy
DIY Do It Yourself Activities and Car Repair
Health and Wellness / Community Health / Nutrition / Diet / Recovery
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20

43. What are ISU’s
Research Priorities?
What is your meal in library end-user or
research, and learning terms?
Programs, collections, services . . . Portfolio

44. Let’s think
What is a meal in library end-user or
research, and learning terms?
Think: Are you thinking
food, courses, days, weekly plan, or
nutrition overall?

45. The new
bibliography and
collection
development
KNOWLEDGE
PORTALS
KNOWLEDGE,
LEARNING,
INFORMATION &
RESEARCH
COMMONS

46. Library Space

47. Library Space Concerns
First Impressions: Security, Circ Desks, Signage
Cleanliness
Retail models
Displays (return carts, colour blocking, …)
Signage
Community Commons
Boundaries
Parking lots and the skirts as public programming space
Street fairs
Partnerships
Gardens
Wireless
Technology commons . . . Smart Rooms

48. What are the real issues?
Craft versus Industrial Strength
Pilot, Project, Initiative versus Portfolio Strategy
Hand knitted prototypes versus Production
e.g. Information Literacy initiatives
Discovery versus Search versus Deep Search
eLearning units
Strategic Analytics
Value measures
Behaviours

49. What We Never Really Knew Before (US/Canada)
 27% of our users are under 18.
 59% are female. We often
 29% are college students. believe a lot
 5% are professors and 6% are teachers.isn’t
that
true.
 On any given day, 35% of our users are there for the very
first time!
 Only 29% found the databases via the library website.
 59% found what they were looking for on their first search.
 72% trusted our content more than Google.
 But, 81% still use Google.

51. Be More Open to the Users’ Path

52. What Would You Attempt If
You Knew You Would Not
Fail?

53. My Humble Recommendations
 Focus on the user, I mean really
 Pilot and experiment with mobile social cohorts
 Classes (mobile training or extended learning)
 Reading cohorts and book clubs
 Patron-driven strategies first
 Associations
 Fundraising
 Meetings
 Teams (business or sport)

54. My Humble Recommendations
Actively lobby and educate to ensure that the emerging mobile
ecosystem supports the values and principles of librarianship for
balance in the rights of end users for use, access, learning and
research.
 Support vendors and laws to be as agnostic as possible by ensuring
that, as far as possible your services and content offerings support the
widest range of devices, formats, browsers, and platforms.

55. Get to where the user
is.
eLearning
Mobile
Distant
Tools

56. My Humble Recommendations
 Design for frictionless access using such opportunities
as geo-IP and mobile ready websites
 Test everything in all browsers – mobile or not – all
devices.
 Invest in usability research aimed at the user experience
and test and learn from it and share your learning.
 Don’t prioritize the librarian experience first
 Watch key developments in major publishing spaces –
retail, kiddy lit, textbooks, e-learning, fiction, etc. Sport
the differences and opportunities

57. My Personal Hobby Horses
 This is an evolution not a revolution
 The REAL revolution was the Internet and the Web.
 The hybrid ecology is winning in the near term for
operating systems and content formats.
 This is good since competition drives innovation and
we’re in a Renaissance not an end game right now.
 Engage in critical thinking not raw criticism. Be
constructive.
 Critical thinking is not part of dogma or religious fervor
or fan boy behavior.

58. My Personal Hobby Horses
 This is an evolution not a revolution
 Perfectionism will not move us forward at this juncture.
 Really understand the digital divide and remove your
economic and social class blinkers
 Get real about teens and Boomers
 Get over library obsession with statistics and
comprehensiveness.
 Get excellent at real measurements, sampling and
understanding impact and satisfaction.
(Analytics, Foresee, Pew)

59. My Personal Hobby Horses
 This is an evolution not a revolution
 We need to revisit the concept of
preservation, archives, repositories, and
conservation from an access and linked data view.
 Check out new publishing models like Flipboard.
 Watch for emerging book enhancements and
other features that will challenge library
metadata, selection policies, and collection
development.

61. A Third Path

64. Smelly Or
Yellow Sex
Liquid Appeal?

65. Consider the Whole Experience

67. Until the lion learns to write her own story, the
story will always be from the perspective o the
hunter not the hunted.

69. Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLA
VP strategic partnerships and markets
Cengage Learning (Gale)
Cel: 416-669-4855
stephen.abram@cengage.com
Stephen’s Lighthouse Blog
http://stephenslighthouse.com
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