The new City Centre Library in Surrey officially opened on Saturday, attracting hundreds of people to the ceremonies and the day’s entertainment. The iconic 77,000 sq. ft. building is a key element of the city’s new city centre. Under construction right next door is a new city hall and a performing arts centre. Just a block away is a busy transit hub and Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus. The strategic location of the new library will enable all kinds of important partnerships that support learning and innovation in a city that is an emerging powerhouse on the Canadian and global stage.
Archive for September, 2011
Surrey opens iconic new City Centre Library
Posted in Library as place, Library partnerships, tagged Surrey Libraries on September 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Augmented reality in San José
Posted in Content creation by libraries, Library innovation, Uncategorized, tagged augmented reality on September 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The San José Public Library launched an augmented reality site recently and announced it on its blog on September 10th in a very down to earth post Augmented reality layers information on top of a view of the real world, typically on a mobile device. In this case historical photos and documents from the library’s local history collection have been chosen to augment three different walking tours near the city’s downtown. The website for this augmentation has been branded as Scan José, which is cute and memorable.
This site also enables one to view the images in 3D by downloading the appropriate application from iTunes or the Android Marketplace. Very cool!
Top trends in academic libraries
Posted in Academic libraries, Library innovation, tagged ACRL on September 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »
With Labour Day now over post-secondary institutions and their libraries are once again welcoming new and returning students on campus. Many of these libraries are discussing and planning services that match the current trends in the field. What are these trends? According to a June 2010 report of the Association of College & Research Libraries there are 10 top trends underway in academic libraries. I’m listing the trends below exactly as they are written in the report, except that I’ve changed the order. The report has them in alphabetical order, which is oh so librarian-like, don’t you think?
- The definition of the library space will change as physical space is repurposed and virtual space expands;
- Changes in higher education will require that librarians possess diverse skill sets;
- Increased collaboration will expand the role of the library within the institution and beyond;
- Libraries will continue to lead efforts to develop scholarly communication and intellectual property services;
- Technology will continue to change services and required skills;
- Explosive growth of mobile devices and applications will drive new services;
- Academic library collection growth is driven by patron demand and will include new resource types;
- Digitization of unique library collections will increase and require a larger share of resources;
- Demands for accountability and assessment will increase;
- Budget challenges will continue and libraries will evolve as a result.
I live in Metro Vancouver, so as I discuss trends and issues with colleagues and visit library buildings and websites I see what one would expect, namely that each institution is aware of these trends but is incorporating services that align with them at its own pace. For example the development of a Learning Commons or Research Commons as a key set of resource for academic success is expanding in local post-secondary institutions, both in terms of physical spaces and virtual content. This development involves a convergence of a number of the top 10 trends described by ACRL, including collaboration between libraries and other partners, technological shifts, repurposing of physical space, diverse skill sets amongst library staff and assessment of and accountability for the resources invested in these initiatives.