I usually find something to identify with in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s podcast, Tech Therapy, and the latest episode about Libraries and IT was particularly relevant. For the past twenty-some years I’ve been immersed in both of these cultures, first as a library director working with IT to automate systems, and for the past fifteen years as a CIO with responsibilities for librarians and technologists.  Several years ago I was doing research on this very topic and gave several presentations about the two cultures and the potential for synergistic relationships.

As CIO I acknowledge the two distinct cultures within a blended IT organization. I have come to accept and respect the inherent differences. I do believe that as instructional technologies are now so closely integrated into the entire teaching learning process there are more similarities than differences. As librarians and IT professionals work together, many of the earlier barriers between the two groups have been broken down.

The Tech Therapy podcast does a nice job of delineating the differences and similarities between the two groups. Whether true or not, there are also have been many perceptions  that each group has of the other.  And if the old adage about how others see us holds true, there’s been a lot of negativity to overcome.

Research studies of the IT and Library cultures go back to the 1980’s, when technology began to radically change the face of libraries and their necessary relationships with IT.  Research that I studied in the early 2000’s revealed that IT professionals considered librarians to be inflexible and rigid, with little or no understanding of technology and no desire to learn. Librarians were perceived as moving slowly and cautiously and engaging in too much discussion before embarking on new directions, and theirs was a tradition of standards, tradition and structure.

Librarians did not hold technologists in high esteem, considering them to be technocratic and  disorganized, with high regard for data and little regard for information, knowledge, and disciplinary research needs and valuing technology for its own sake. As librarians and technologists have developed closer working relationships, some of the stereotypic perceptions have been dispelled, and to some extent have been replaced with the acknowledgement of similarities between the two groups, and certainly the recognition of mutual goals.

Much of my work as CIO has been to bridge the cultural gap between the two groups and create an environment that fosters collaboration and respect. A blended IT organization certainly has facilitated coordination among the technology and information groups, but organizational structure is less important than an atmosphere that encourages ongoing communication and interaction. There are still schools where IT and libraries remain isolated from each other, but that is less common now. There are more partnerships and cooperation as the two groups are working together to achieve common goals. 

Web 2.0 technologies are blurring the distinctions, as are Learming Commons that offer a single service point for information — in whatever form it exists. Whether the data is physically in the library or in cyberspace becomes immaterial. Whether faculty and students are assisted by technologists or librarians is of little or no consequence. What matters is the information itself, along with the ability to access what is needed here and now. As our world of technology and information continues to change, so do the relationships between librarians and technologists.

Lately there has been a lot of discussion about Library/IT collaboration. Just yesterday I participated in a Webcast on this topic. Eugene Spencer, previous CIO and current consultant to higher education and library groups, responded to questions and comments about merged organizations, the role of the CIO, and change management, among other issues. The transcript of the entire Webcast is available online.

The question of different cultures arises whenever the topic of blended organizations is discussed. Of course there are the distinct library and IT cultures, but there are also the administrative/enterprise and the academic cultures within IT to be considered, to say nothing of the media services culture, which is a hybrid of sorts. In actuality, there are probably more similarities than differences among the various cultures. In order to successfully meet the needs of the campus, a new culture with common values needs to exist. Everyone involved must be committed to working collaboratively, and must recognize the importance of new technologies to benefit students and faculty by enhancing the learning experience.

In Cortland’s blended organization, we recognize the unique characteristics of the four departments that comprise Information Resources. At the same time we work to create synergies among the departments. To this end, many of our IT initiatives such as Second Life and iTunesU are managed by cross-departmental teams, with each team member bringing distinct strengths and skills. We often include teaching faculty on our teams, since we need to understand their needs and specific teaching objectives. We recognize and respect organizational boundaries, but as we work together to be creative with emerging technologies, those boundaries have become less important.

First there was Web 2.0, then Business 2.0 and more recently Library 2.0. In a recent issue of Educause Quarterly I’ve just read about Commons 2.0 that “brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways….[with] the freedom of wireless communication, flexible workspace clusters that promote interaction and collaboration, and comfortable furnishings, art, and design to make users feel relaxed, encourage creativity, and support peer-learning.”

The evolution of the 2.0 world corresponds with the evolution in the way we provide services and resources. The 2.0 concept also reflects the variety of collaborative ways and spaces in which learning takes place. It certainly reflects the learning styles of our millennial students who are comfortable with new technologies, communicate electronically, and use social networking sites to create their own learning experiences. Commons 2.0 author Bryan Sinclair suggests five guiding prinicples for Commons 2.0: open, free, comfortable, inspiring, and practical.

At SUNY Cortland we have an extended area on first floor of the library designated as the Learning Commons. Our Commons meets Sinclair’s 2.0 criteria and is consistent with his 2.0 principles. Our Commons is close to the library cafe so students can easily bring food and beverages with them. The Commons has wireless access and is attractively designed with chairs that are comfortable and furniture that is flexible.  However, students must leave this appointed area to find books and periodicals, check out laptops, use mobile technologies, and create media projects — all part of the 2.0 experience. Hence our library director maintains that the entire library is the Learning Commons. Should that notion be extended to include the entire campus? Beyond the campus? Anywhere formal or informal collaboration and learning are takes place? Diana Oblinger’s 2006 e-book Learning Spaces is an excellent resource for examining the convergence of space, technology and pedagogy in the 2.0 environment.

The 2.0 world is changing as new technologies and media formats foster greater opportunities for interaction and shared learning. As providers of technology and information we must continue to understand our students and how they learn. We need to engage others on campus to assure that spaces being built and redesigned do encourage the 2.0 approach to education.

An interesting post on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s The Wired Campus references Sharing, Privacy and Trust in our Networked World,  a recent OCLC report about how libraries can best use Web 2.0 and social networking tools. The 280-page report is based on results of a study that explores both patron and librarian practices and preferences in the use of social networks, including attitudes about privacy and sharing and receiving information.

The Report concludes that most everyone uses basic Internet services such as searching and e-mailing and the majority use e-commerce services and instant messaging. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed use social networking sites and blogging is becoming increasingly popular. However the percentage of people using Library Web tools has actually decreased.

What do those findings mean for those of us who invest heavily in online library resources?  How do we reach our students who feel self-sufficient in their online research skills and often circumvent library resources? They don’t necessarily use the library Web pages that we often design as a result of our own usability studies. There are no clear answers as we traverse the online information world and explore the implications and opportunities of Library 2.0. Librarians must be willing to question current practices and be open to new and different service venues, both real and virtual. We must all accept and embrace change. As OCLC’s report concludes, “The new Web is a very different thing. Libraries need to be very different, too.”

This week’s Chronicle of Higher Education has an intriguing article where eight academic librarians in their 20s and 30s responded  to questions about their impressions of libraries today and what the future might hold. At the same time that libraries are facing new challenges related to technology, information literacy and shrinking budgets, baby boomer librarians such as myself are starting to retire and being replaced with Gen Xers and Net Genners. Here’s what some of our younger librarian colleagues are saying:

The core values of libraries are will remain the same, as the physical and virtual services will change and complement each other. The book isn’t likely to go away and reference services are likely to stay, although the venue is changing to include digital and media services. Librarians will coexist and even complement the “amagoogle” information world that so many have embraced.  Creation of new ideas is expanding well beyond text to include a wide variety of digital media. (The above referenced article includes links to audio clips of the librarian responses.) A Library/Information Science is still important in the profession, but so is the need for a broad and deep understanding of IT.

After reading the article and listening to the librarian responses, I didn’t feel the essence of what they had to say was so very different than my own perspectives on libraries and their future — or that of fellow baby boomer librarians who have evolved with libraries and their changing environments.

There is a renewed energy on campus as students and faculty arrive and a new school year begins. Classes start on Monday, but the prep work has been going on all summer. Throughout this week several of us participated in new faculty orientation programs and we have posted a checklist to help new faculty familiarize themselves with our services. Students are arriving on campus and are eager to establish their network connections. We have simplified the process for them by automating the Hallnet Service.

There’s lots new on the horizon this fall. We have reopened Sperry Learning Center with nine new state-of-the-art classrooms and two interactive video rooms. We have information about the hardware and software in each classroom available on the web. We also have a listing of hardware and software in each of the computer labs. We have upgraded all of our PC labs and classrooms to Office 2007, and are working to get advance notice out to everyone teaching in those spaces. Since many faculty desktop computers still have Office 2003 the challenge will be upgrading software for those requesting newer versions.

In Memorial Library the Learning Commons is fully functional. The camera loan program is more popular than ever and this year we are loaning out a variety of mobile technologies including iPods. Partnering with the New Communications Media Program, we will be offering students full support in media production. As part of a Millennial grant sponsored by the President’s Office, we now have a SUNY Cortland island on Second Life where classes will be taught. Mobile technologies and social computing are certainly influencing pedagogies on our campus.

Welcome to the 07-08 academic year. The adventure begins anew!

A recent posting in The Wired Campus had a link to The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies’ list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning compiled from lists of learning professionals.  There are many of the expected sites, such as Google, YouTube, Flickr,  del.icio.us, and Wikipedia.  Google Scholar was also included, but as the posting points out there are few scholarly and library resources on the list.

Librarians and faculty are acutely aware that too often students do not use library databases in their research, and educators are always looking for strategies to promote these resources and encourage their use. Information Literacy is a critical skill that students must have to take full advantage of the new information resources. Within the SUNY System Information Management is among the general education requirements that students must satisfy in order to graduate.  

Millennial students know all about social computing and other technologies they are comfortable using. In fact they often perceive their facility with technology to be so thorough that they tend not to be interested in learning the information literacy skills necessary to effectively locate, evaluate and use the information they glean from the Internet.

The librarian’s role as facilitator of the research and information retrieval process has expanded and become more complex. The challenge for all educators is to broaden students’ e-horizons and familiarize them with the world of online scholarly and peer-reviewed literature so they are knowledgeable about how to find, use, and evaluate electronic information.

Here at Cortland, Memorial Library is part of the central IT organization. As such the library is involved in all major IT initiatives. Last year we opened our Learning Commons which is a single point of contact for information and technology inquiries. The library circulates laptops and digital cameras along with books. There are two multimedia studios where students and faculty produce electronic materials and preview their presentations. At Cortland there is a Computer Applications Program where technology instruction is integrated into majors. Students can choose a CAP minor and the three CAP faculty are library faculty. The Technology Training Center is one of the library’s services as are web development, instructional design and digital imaging. The photo below is one of the librarian who coordinates instruction assisting a student with an electronic presentation project. It illustrates the types of services offered in Memorial Library. 

 With the strong partnerships among Memorial Library, Classroom Media Services and Academic and Administrative Computing, the Information Resources organization offers the campus community a full complement of integrated information and technology services. The Campus Computing Project, which supports a continuing study of the role of information and technology in higher education, indicates that only 11.3% of the colleges and universities responding to their survey report that the library reports to a CIO position. The majority of libraries reporting to a CIO are in private four-year colleges (15.6%) followed by community colleges (13.3%) and public four-year colleges (10.2%). Although several high-profile research universities such as Columbia and Indiana University have merged organizations, only 2.7% of public and 5.9% of private research universities have libraries reporting to a CIO.  EDUCAUSE has a Library/IT Partnership Consitutent Group with regular online discussions.