Survey of Information Technologies in the User Environment

Along with the shift from print to digital formats, information technologies are significantly affecting today’s libraries. New technologies and concepts such as mobile devices, social networking sites, communication and interactive tools, and other Internet technologies are changing how libraries serve their patrons as well as how users interact with libraries and each other. Each technology has impacted the library user and the user environment so much so that today’s library is said to be everywhere. Wherever the user can go with their mobile device and access the Internet, and therefore the library OPAC, it can functionally be said that they are at the library, for the collection, user services, and library databases is where the library is located, not the brick and mortar structure. This increased access also raises concerns over online information security and privacy, and the conscious Internet user needs to be aware of the dangers and take the necessary steps to mitigate them. The concept of change is another element of these new information technologies—embracing it, for technology is always changing as new ideas spark new revolutions in development and libraries must change along with them. All information institutions must learn to ride these waves of change instead of being pulled along, half drowning, by the undertow. Learning to both integrate and inform patrons on how best to use these technologies becomes an important part of being an information expert. Surveyed in this chapter is a selection of those important and driving technologies and changes.

Space Managing System for the Physical Collection

Collection space management is an important endeavor to any collection that is heavily composed of physical material. Books on shelves covering vast areas of stacks can quickly get out of hand, space wise, if solid technology and practices are not implemented in its management. Weeding and stacks expansion can be great tools, but will prove increasingly less efficient as the collection becomes more chaotic. Shifting is the only tool that can restore order in this case. With this understanding, it is a great advantage for any library professional and library administrator to become aware of good practices and applications of shifting technologies in order to take control over and guide the user environment in their own institutions. Operations, such as shifting large physical collections and developing effective techniques to do it, have not been, and continue to remain an important topic neglected by the library field today. A new paradigm of space management, developed through extensive planning and field applications and designed from the ground up, for shifting large physical collections is outlined here—called the MEL Space Management System, or in short, the MEL System. Surveyed in this chapter is a review of this driving technology and its applications, covering the NITA Methodology Stage-I, Stage-II, and Stage-III in its developmental process.