The Lost Art of Finding Our Way

Navigating in a New WorldPaul B. Gandel

Syracuse University

Early Explorers

Reference: The Lost Art of Finding Our Way byJohn Edward Huth

Exploring New Worlds Today….

What’s Different?

“When everything and everyone becomes connected and complexity is free and innovation is both dirt cheap and can come from anywhere, the world of work changes”Thomas Freeman NY Times Sept 15, 2013

We have moved from an the age of information to the age of unlimited choices and possibilities

But listening is not enough!

Asking the right question is also key

What is the future of libraries?

Paul Gandel

What SHOULD be the future of libraries?

What should be the future of library buildings/spaces?

Keith Richards in his home library

What should be the future of librarians?

Source Pew Research

Why Should it Matter?

Problem

Purpose?

• The modern organization exists to provide a specific service to society

Drucker

• The purpose of a business is not to make a profit!–Create customers

• marketing• Innovation

Don’t Settle!Dream! Envision!

"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse."

--Henry Ford

Space?

But more than just pleasing

• A space to unite the confederacy…• A space to continue the dialogue…• Unique objects that delight…• Technology may not be the most important

element…• Space no longer designed around books or

collections but around users…

It’s All About Process

Librarians?

• What is a profession?– Knowledge– Practices– Values

Our knowledge?

•Facilitating knowledge creation •Not necessarily services, materials, or even answers•But questions!

Librarians need to be part of the Discovery Process…

• How?• Libraries and librarians need to organize

around the new workflow of users• We need to stop thinking about collections

and scholarly output and start thinking about scholarly communication…

Organizing and Facilitating Knowledge Creation

In the new world of massive-scale computing and information resources, facilitators are needed to work with researchers and students to identify the most effective analytical tools, data sets, and other resources to best achieve research skills.

Gandel 32

Big Data is Now Big!

Connecting the dots….

• Resources used to be scarce and attention is abundant

• But now resources are abundant and attention is scarce

Practicing the Right Connections?

• Think globally act locally?• Think locally act locally?

Aggregation Matters!

Colleges and universities have long competed against one another, measuring themselves in comparison to each other and holding tightly to their idiosyncrasies as defining elements of their status. But today, the distribution and reuse of information digitally via the Internet is rapidly changing the game, rewarding those who instead aggregate and scale toward a common infrastructure. It is becoming increasingly clear that neither the challenges that confront colleges and universities nor the solutions to those challenges are unique to each institution.

Chuck Henry and Brad WheelerThe game has changedEducause Review, March 20

Sustainability

• Over 50% of the books in most libraries never circulate

• There is a tremendous amount of redundancy both regionally and nationally in most areas of the world

• While we need to assure that materials are not lost, we also need to recognize the enormous opportunity to reduce redundancy and waste

Shared Collections, Infrastructure, Artifacts, and Strategy!

Make Strategic Alliances!

The Value Added Proposition

• Honesty• Consistency

Peer Review?

Vitek Tracz approach

In the search for tomorrow—the next new thing—do we loose

today?

50

Recipe for Success—Be Results Oriented!

Define outcomes in the context of institutional mission

Identify opportunities for real impact

Measure results!

Focus on outcomes not outputs!

Be part of the conversation!

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Building Not Just Trust but…

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.Henry Ford

 

Thanks…

pgandel@syr.edu