Emerging Technology Committee

Michael Casey posts at Library Crunch:

As chair of my library system’s Emerging Technology committee, I made it a point to choose two IT staffers to serve on this six person committee. The charge of the committee is to examine both new technologies and technologies that may be new to the library world (though they are used in other areas). Many of the products and services we examine are in early beta stages, or they are only being used by a small handful of institutions.

Once again, Mr. Casey eloquently states something I deeply believe: libraries need a Technology Think Tank. I recommended the same to the folks at Chicago Public Library and to the crowd at Internet Librarian. First, it’s darn forward-thinking. Second, it gets IT and librarians talking. Michael writes:

Having IT staffers on the team does something else, too – it puts the IT department on notice that things do change, and that the library’s technology will always need to change. Having IT on board for this part of the process ensures early buy-in, a much easier job selling the idea when it comes to the budget, and it eliminates the sometimes difficult job of selling the new product or service to the IT department – since they are a part of the process from the earliest stages they are integral players and have an interest in seeing the initiative succeed.

I’ve been writing a lot these last couple weeks as well about improving technology in libraries and this is one of the best things any library might do to insure success in the future. Even if you work or manage a tiny library, you can still have a team like this or better yet partner with other libraries in your area and set some goals for discussion and learning about whatever the next big tech things will be.

Thanks Library Crunch for another incredible post!