The Top Technologies Every Librarian Should Know: A LITA Guide

Technological advances and their eventual impact on library user services can occur at a rapid rate. The time span from nascent idea to product adoption by users is shortening. Libraries have become technology leaders by implementing cutting-edge tools to enhance their users’ experience. Where is library technology heading in the next few years? What are the emerging tools and technologies that we should be paying attention to, to be ready when the time is right to adopt them? Those are the questions contributors to The Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know were asked to address.

This is a highly informative book on the topic of emerging technologies for libraries and librarians. Most of technologies discussed are available now. Some are being refined for library applications to open the future for libraries and library services. Some of the technologies explored here are being used by libraries around the world already. This book is a valuable resource for any library, the chapters include: Impetus to Innovate: Convergence and Library Trends; Hands-Free Augmented Reality: Impacting the Library Future; Libraries and Archives Augmenting the World; The Future of Cloud-Based Library Systems; Library Discovery; Web Services as the New Websites for Many Libraries; Text Mining; Bigger, Better, Together Building the Digital Library of the Future and Open Hardware in Libraries.

The chapters are well written and give enough information to help librarians brainstorm what could be the next big thing for their libraries. Another important aspect of this book is that it briefly discusses theories and concepts such as technological convergence and augmented reality that influence the adoption of a particular emerging technology. These concepts help stimulate strategic thinking on which technology is suitable for a particular library, considering the user needs and availability of technical skills among the librarians. It gives guidance on how to obtain knowledge of the technology and gives references for further reading on each topic. The chapters have been written by experts in the field who are either using the technology or have written about the technology in other journals. At the same time, the content is written well enough that most librarians could understand and discuss it.

Within some of the chapters the contributors’ Northern American worldview dominates, making it hard to picture where some of the initiatives would fit within other information contexts. This is especially true for the academic library examples. Overall, this book will appeal to library managers and staff, LIS students and all in between. The topics are broad enough that all within the GLAM sector will be able to connect with the content.