John J. Burke - The Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion: A Basic Guide for Library Staff

T echnology infuses every aspect of every day in every library, and thus basic technology skills are a prerequisite for everyone who works in a library. I designed the Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion: A Basic Guide for Library Staff, Fifth Edition, to give colleagues a sound and sensible way to consider, access, and use library technologies to better meet the needs of our users. This book is designed to be a one-stop overview of all technologies used in libraries today. The world of information technology changes at a relentless pace, and todays library managers, new librarians, support staff members, and students need a simple way to become informed and stay current.

The pages that follow describe the broad scope of systems, software, and specialized devices available to libraries and show how they are integrated into our institutions unique processes. The book offers basic definitions, suggests applications and uses, considers adoption issues, and troubleshoots potential problems. All busy professionals need to learn how to evaluate these technologies and assess their usefulness, so the guide provides essential know-how in planning, security, purchasing, and more. Perhaps most important, a solid grounding in the topic will make library staff members more comfortable when speaking with colleagues or interacting with patrons.

This fifth edition of the guide represents a complete reorganization and update of the book. The book now starts with a section that offers context on how technologies impact library work and a look at technologies that are currently in use. The next section covers the fundamental technologies that library staff members and patrons use, followed by a section on technology tools that library staff members use to present services to patrons. The largest section examines the library technology environment and how to build and maintain it. A final section addresses possible future developments in library technology and offers resources for keeping track of these developments as they happen. The book also includes two wholly new chapters, provides new up-to-date sources for tracking down technology information. I hope that the new flow of the book is more logical and representative of the technologies libraries use and the environment in which library staff use them.

The Neal-Schuman Library Technology Companion contains seventeen chapters arranged in five parts:

Part I

, The Universe of Library Technology, delivers a historical overview of the technologies that have impacted libraries.

, Survey Says: How Library Staff Members Are Using Technology provides context to the study of these information technologies and services by revealing the results of a third survey of working library staff members and the technologies they regularly use, as well as a comparison to the results of the surveys in the third and fourth editions.

Part II

, Free Information Resources: Part of the Library Arsenal, discusses the crucial role of free Web information in supporting library research.

, Library Electronic Resources: E-books, Full-Text Articles, and Streaming Media, addresses this mainstay area of library collections.

, Organizing Information to Make It Easier to Find: Library Catalogs, Discovery Layers, and More, reveals the opportunities to expand the possibilities of the library catalog.

, Computing Devices in Libraries: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, and Mobile Devices, shows how many options library patrons and staff members have for taking on computing tasks.

Part III

, Library Websites and Web Services, emphasizes the importance of creating an Internet presence for your library with unique services for patrons.

, Social Networking and Patron Participation: Marketing and More, highlights the value of social-networking tools and technologies for interacting with our patrons.

, How Library Staff Learn and Teach: Screencasts, Distance Learning, and Learning Management Systems, demonstrates how technology can aid in staff development and training and how library staff members can fulfill their educational roles.

, Makerspaces in Libraries, explores the possibilities for adding creative activities and technologies in libraries.

Part IV

, The Right Technology at the Right Time: Planning, Evaluating, Buying, and Implementing Technology, offers a guide for purchasing equipment, putting systems into operation, and starting a technology planning process.

, Meeting and Supporting Patron Technology Needs: Universal Design and Adaptive/Assistive Technologies, helps ensure that your technologies meet and serve the needs of your wide range of users.

, Building the Technology Environment: Infrastructure, Ergonomics, and Sustainability, will help make any facility comfortable, accessible, and sustainable for the long run.

, Protecting Technology and Technology Users: Securing Collections, Enhancing Computer Security, and Protecting Privacy, presents guidance for protecting your library and its patrons from physical and digital dangers.

, The Death of Technologies: Preservation Issues and Saying Good-Bye, explains current technologies for recording information and the challenges ahead for retrieving that information from dying and dead technologies.

Part V

, Our Technological Futures: Maintaining Library Services in Infinite Possibilities, looks ahead to how technology can and will impact our patrons, our libraries, and our tradition of service.

, Keeping Track of Technology Changes, presents resources for learning more about the latest developments and issues.

The book closes with a glossary of useful terms; boldfaced terms appearing within the text are included here.

There is a great deal of information within these pages, but there is even more to discuss. Follow me on Twitter .