Colin Storey

Treasuring our traditions and our people: Riding the wave and making a difference over the next 25 years

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, faced with the “disruptive technologies” of e‐revolution, will there be academic libraries in 25 years time for our younger colleagues to inherit? Are senior academic library managers reacting rightly and proactively making the correct strategic decisions now to ensure the rightful and proper place for librarians in a university for decades to come? Second, assuming there will indeed be university libraries and “librarians” to people them in the future, what professional and personal attributes will future librarians need, not only to ride the e‐revolution wave, but also to prosper as leaders in their institutions to the year 2057 and beyond?Design/methodology/approach – A general review of the current state‐of‐play in academic library management vis‐a‐vis the e‐revolution, in terms of the history of the profession and previous perceived “revolutions”.Findings – Suggests academic library professionals are over‐reacting to the “newness...

Librarian interrupted! Ur‐librarian to un‐librarian, or ur‐librarian to uber‐librarian?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the dangers and opportunities for a highly trained group of professionals – librarians – in responding to the present and future challenges, for example from the webs so‐called digital natives and from the webs bare‐fisted market forces.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a general view of the current state‐of‐play in library management vis‐a‐vis the e‐revolution, in terms of the history and future of the profession.Findings – Librarians are in danger of casting off the primordial and deeply original tenets of the profession (the term “ur‐librarianship” is suggested here to refer to this canon of library beliefs). Librarians may well become irrelevant shadows of their former selves by embracing a mish‐mash of misdirected and misappropriated ideologies and peripheral priorities from other, newer, professions and undo centuries of hard work (here referred to as “un‐librarianship”). In consequence, readers, in a cloud of unknowing, would not understa...

Managing across cultures: the experiences of three Hong Kong academic library directors

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the experiences of three western librarians in adapting their management styles for working and living in a new culture. Design/methodology/approach - Three university library directors who have been working as expatriates in Hong Kong for 2 to 18 years were asked to comment on their own personal experiences in moving to a new culture, a new language environment, and new management challenges. Findings - Moving to a new culture can be difficult for the expatriate and his family but work environments have many similarities. Developing an understanding of the local professional culture and working within is vital to success. Practical implications - The paper presents some guidelines for librarians who may be seeking a career abroad. Originality/value - There is very little literature on librarians, particularly those in management, who have chosen to continue their careers abroad. This paper provides first-hand experiences and demonstrates that librarianship shares a certain commonality and that management skills can be adapted to new cultures.

Riding the Tiger Hong Kong librarians and the impact of 1997

Hong Kong librarians face a period of intense change on two fronts: the rapid changes in technology and fluc tuations in resources that are common to all librarians; and the unique and fundamental change in political sta tus that will come to Hong Kong in 1997. Traces the political history of Hong Kong as a backdrop for the dis cussion of Hong Kong libraries and librarians (including a profile of the membership of the Hong Kong Library Association) compared with those of the Chinese Peoples Republic (PRC). While expressing pessimism about the PRCs inten tions, Hong Kong librarians neverthe less feel that the progress made in library provision, over the previous 30 years is solid enough to continue and survive the political and economic changes ahead.

Book review: Renewing our Libraries: Case Studies in Re-planning and Refurbishment Michael Dewe (ed.). Farnham: Ashgate, 2009. 284 pp. £60.00. ISBN 9780754673392

used to using bibliographic data but frequently a puzzle for the non-initiated. A helpful addition to this section would be to demonstrate how to use ‘View | Source’ in a browser to reveal the metadata (if it is present) in a webpage; the same point could usefully be included in Chapter 6, where the account of the ‘citation pearl growing’ strategy in searching is too brief. Turning to use of information, Chapter 10 explains techniques for evaluating information and its sources, and Chapter 11 considers the use of information in writing assignments and research reports. Conceptualizing techniques, such as ‘mind mapping’, are explained. A useful additional reading for this chapter would be Tony and Barry Buzan’s The Mindmap Book (BBC Active, 2006). The importance of structure in writing is emphasized and the technical requirements of good presentation are also explained. Chapter 12 explains the development of social software and introduces the nomenclature of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web. The main types of social networking software are outlined, with examples and screenshots. This chapter could well have become a ragbag of acronyms, abbreviations and technical wizardry: instead, the distinctive value of each approach is explained so that the reader can appreciate how this aspect of Web development can be integrated with the more familiar systems. What makes this book especially welcome is the effectiveness of its information design. Each chapter commences with a sidebar listing outcomes and key terms and concludes with a set of questions aimed at developing critical thinking: these could be used for discussion, reflective thought or as part of an assessment. References and a chapter summary are also provided. The examples and screen shots include many from sources other than South Africa, thus increasing the potential for international use of this text. The book designers, Nimblemouse of Cape Town, have served the authors well. The text is clearly and attractively laid out, with copious use of colour, screen shots, diagrams, and images that capture the imagination. It has immediate visual appeal and prompts exploration of the text. The contents are delineated at two levels: an outline, followed by a more detailed contents list of each chapter. This device makes it easy to locate sections and, for the lecturer, to decide how to link themes together for a course or workshop. Different background colours are used for each chapter, making it easy to locate sections. The quality of reproduction is high – and this is especially evident with the screen shots, which can be easily read. A full index has been provided, an essential component of a text exploring how to manage information use. Altogether, one would have no hesitation in putting this in the hands of students (or their parents) and expecting them to read it out of intrinsic curiosity rather than compulsion! Renewing our Libraries: Case Studies in Re-planning and Refurbishment Michael Dewe (ed.). Farnham: Ashgate, 2009. 284 pp. £60.00. ISBN 9780754673392