The idea of extending circulation capabilities to patron holdings evolves from my belief that the search tool we present to our users must always *find* the thing they are looking for. Whether the item is available at the local library is part of a transparent Step Two. The most important first step is to locate a reference and metadata for the item sought.

Once the metadata is available, then the user will be able to decide if they need the physical item because they will be able to see the book cover, read the table of contents, “look inside the book,” read reviews from their peer group, and utilize all that other cataloging information we provide.

IF, the user decides she wants the item, then we must do everything in our power to get it for her. This is part of that transparent Step Two. There’s lots of ways to get the thing these days because we can not only borrow it from another library or buy it from our book distributor or Amazon or the local bookstroe. We can also digitize it, copy it, or create a book-on-demand. We can download it as an Ebook, or find it in an open access repository or link to it in an online book collection. So to this increasingly long list of ways we can fulfill the patron’s request, I am, as of today, adding the idea that we borrow it from another patron.

I have lots of books on my shelf that may be of interest to just the right person but which may not make sense for my local library to make room for. For example, I did a paper on data mining so I have all these great academic and scientific books on data mining that probably wouldn’t do much business in my small town library. But, in the spirit of the long tail, there are people out there who would are likely to want these books at some point and I’d be more than happy to lend them. I’m not quite prepared to sell them via Amazon or donate them to someone who will reject them (my library) but I’d love to lend them to other interested users.

Imagine, if our local collections were expanded to include items held by our patrons that they were willing to lend? Double the collection size without adding any more space? Sounds good to me. Of course, we’d have to come up with some rules and there would be some risk involved but so what! I think it would be worth trying.

Anyone out there interested in expanding their library collection to include circulatable items owned by their patrons/customers? Library users, are you interested in lending items from your personal collection?

As such, I’ve been giving a talk that focuses on this issue. This talk picked up steam first in Denver about a year ago at a conference on delivery and at that point I used the title “Delivery 2.0″ which seems to have caught on. Since then, I’ve been asked to do my Delivery 2.0 speech at other ILL meetings. I agree. Then I go there and do my Future of Libraries talk.

So, here’s the latest version for your enjoyment. Available as a podcast (90 minutes) with accompanying slides (PDF). Enjoy.

I also argued that the days of the “accidental systems librarian” are over and we need to start taking our technology skills more seriously. All library workers need to be effective users of technology. Period. On top of that, we need strong technologists running our networks, administering our databases and, yes, designing our software.

Our panel was part of the larger Libraries Transform Communities theme.

If you’d like to hear my presentation, here’s the 40 min podcast. Or if you’d rather just watch the slides, here’s a Powerpoint Show of my presentation.

But synapses are also about pathways. In the brain, we start with zillions of potential neural connections, or ways to get energy from nerve to muscle or gland, and back again. As we start doing and experiencing things, we set up patterns in our bodies. The patterns cause us to do things the same way and to think the same way. Because the same neural pathways keep getting used, many of the others eventually die from disuse. By forcing ourselves to do things differently, we force our bodies to create new neural pathways. We keep our brains vibrant and expansive. If we stick too much to our patterns, we lose options.

Some people are finding the whole Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 thing very difficult to comprehend because they can’t figure out how to fit it into existing constructs. It’s immediately overwhelming. I’m teaching an online class on Web 2.0 to librarians right now and I find myself always trying to connect it back to delivering traditional library services in new ways. We did reference in person, then on the phone, then via email and now via IM. See, that’s easy to get! MySpace is for young people what hanging out at the local roller rink was for you when you were a teen. There’s a pathway to use!

So, getting back to the Synaptic Library. I’m thinking the Synaptic Library is one that is open to new ways of doing things even as they struggle with the limitations of circuitry designed to do things the old way. The Synaptic Library is using old pathways but it is also creating new pathways. It knows that as soon as we stop building those neural connections, it’s all over. The Synaptic Library is a survivor – it’s extending and expanding those pathways rather than getting stuck in old patterns.

Rule 1: Librarians must ensure that information continues to be available and readily accessible and usable to all people regardless of their intellect, technical abilities, economic standing, location, race, color, creed, etc.

Rule 2: Librarians must protect the privacy of the people who use their services.

Rule 3: Librarians must explore and take leadership positions in the development of new technologies in order to ensure that they are implemented in ways that do not conflict with the first two rules.

[inspired by Isaac Asimov's Three Rules of Robotics]

The article is about some university libraries who are creating spaces known as “Information Commons.” These spaces are noted for their long hours, the availablity of computers for patrons, access to reference materials and access to professional assistance in the areas of both technology and reference.

At Indiana University’s undergraduate library, the first floor is the Information Commons. The Dean of University Libraries describes it as a place with “round-the-clock access to an open, light-filled space that’s filled with 250 computer workstations…and also offers books, reference specialists, and technologists all in one place. It’s one stop shopping.”

According to Jennifer Burek Pierce, there’s a similar Information Commons available at Colorado State University, Emory University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. No doubt there are others too. All the above libraries report big increases in gate counts as a result of their new Information Commons.

It’s no wonder more people are coming into these libraries. The philosophy of the people creating these information commons is to provide a “seamless integration of high tech and high touch” and to “meet the learner at his or her level” and to provide a “full array of help.” This is the kind of library I want at my school and in my community.

University and even public libraries have to get over that technology speedbump when it comes to supporting their patrons (or should I say servicing their clients?). People who come into the library are increasingly in need of help (otherwise they’d just be home googling). They need professional assistance to use the reference resources and they need professional assistance with the technology used to access those resources, including but not limited to the Internet.

Reference and Support Desk
Just as no library would be caught dead without a reference desk, isn’t it time we also provided technical assistance to the patrons that need it? Why not have a Reference and Support Desk in every library?

I’m not suggesting every reference librarian should be a computer tech but I am suggesting every library should have someone readily available to help their patrons with the technology provided by the library whether it is laptop computers, online catalogs, public access computers or subscription databases.

And the person providing technology assistance should be as easy to find as the reference librarian and as capable at helping patrons with technology as reference librarians are at tracking down the answers.

I have a dream today….