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Summary

Introduction

In Chapter 5 we wrote about the new and more active processes of inspiration, creation and sharing that should be the main focus of future libraries. We emphasized the importance of designing new and exciting ways to present the collection, of adding valuable significance, and making it possible for people to share acquired knowledge and insights with other users. We also put forward the view that this new approach will inevitably lead to different design criteria for libraries, and concluded that we need experts from other disciplines to help draw up these new criteria. They can help us to relinquish the classical use of the building and to explore new and inspiring ways of using space, of the kind we see in BK City. For us, this is the example par excellence of a place where many forms of exploration and serendipity are possible.

In this chapter we will explore territory away from the beaten track. When all is said and done, do we really need a building? Can we work without the traditional arrangement of the library? Can modern technology liberate us from that hidebound, passive presentation of library collections? This kind of presentation does not sufficiently invite people to learn and discover, and it is this inviting quality that will be so essential in the library of the future.

We will explore these issues with reference to two sample projects. The first, the ‘Context Library’, focuses on designing exciting search strategies for the public library collection, appropriate to the different ways in which people absorb knowledge and information. The second project is also about the exchange of knowledge and information but it is organized in a completely different way. As we examine these projects, we not only turn our backs on the traditional presentation of (public) library collections but also on the traditional library building.

The Context Library

Traditionally, library collections are placed on bookshelves by librarians according to the centuries-old principles of organization: alphabetic (fiction) or systematic (non-fiction). It remains an effective way to store and retrieve books, but it does not really invite one to explore or to discover meaningful links in the collection. To quote Lankes (2011), ‘libraries should see themselves not as grocery stores but as kitchens’.

Summary

Introduction

Over the years libraries have used technology to improve operational efficiency adopting systems to automate library functions and services that focus on the acquisition, management and circulation of resources, more recently extending these activities, somewhat imperfectly, to digital resources. In contrast to an operational view of IT, this chapter is concerned with the technology of the library in relation to library space. Extensive hardware provision, networking (wired and then wireless) and self-service facilities have been the most noticeable aspects of technology-rich space along with some investment in electronic signage and display screens. The idea of the commons (see Chapter 2), as IT commons and information commons and then learning commons (Watson and Anderson, 2008), has featured the creation of ever larger installations of serried ranks of networked desktop machines, particularly in higher education, reminiscent of battery chicken farms. There is a real threat that such unpleasant environments, increased availability of digital resources, remote access, personal ownership of devices and the inadequate variety of the technology response that is the ‘commons’ will make visiting the physical library become much less likely. Reduced footfall is taken as a key factor in the irrelevance of the library as a place – particularly in public libraries – and an indicator of library ineffectiveness, and adds to the apparent destruction of library as place. So a key question is, Will technology kill the library as a place? For those providing the funding, especially in times of austerity, the technology factor is often a neat excuse to close a library rather than retain it, access to electronic resources and services being viewed as more pertinent making the library as a place less relevant in the rapidly developing electronic information environment.

Change we expect – revolutions we don't

That technology and change are as inseparable as identical twins is widely accepted but generally the speed with which technology drives change is not so well understood. As a first stage, in the time of relatively slow technological development, in the last century merely adopting technology to automate processes was sufficient. Then came a phase of adapting technology to gain service improvement such as modifying the user interface of systems by amalgamation into the ubiquitous portal. The reality, however, is that the rate of technology change itself is accelerating so we often fail to see what is coming next.

Summary

Introduction

The tension between the certainty that is required by project delivery and the imagination that is needed to conceive and vision a project is mentioned in several places in this book (for example in the introduction and Chapter 21). There can be no argument that on-time and on-budget delivery is not just a highly desirable outcome of any project; it is essential, but it should also be recognized that imaginative solutions that make the project fit for the present and future are at least equally important. In a chapter titled ‘How little we know’ in his book The Halo Effect Phil Rosenzweig (2008) quotes social psychologist Eliot Aronson who observed that ‘people are not rational beings so much as rationalizing beings. We want explanations. We want the world around us to make sense.’ Creating that ‘sense’ certainly means building on what we know, but to create something new and amazing can only be achieved by taking a ‘both and’ approach, which combines the best of what we know, from our professional expertise and experience and research, with the best of what we can create by imagination.

Chapters 8 and 9 touch on the importance of creativity, experiences and emotions in respect of space. In this chapter I continue these themes by discussing some common ways of thinking about projects, and emphasizing tools and techniques for planning creatively. Thinking outside the box is something of a cliché but it is required at the outset of a project from all concerned. De Bono (2000) argues that we should be concerned with ‘skills as a thinker’ if we are to create the future – and one of the most important, and often neglected, aspects of our thinking skills is intuition. Albert Einstein once said, ‘The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift’ (quoted in Staes, 2008).

The idea of ‘both and’ means that we need to strike a balance between the rational and the intuitive minds. Currently this balance is strongly tilted towards the rational mind in most organizations and building projects. Shifting the emphasis to the intuitive mind opens up thinking, making it more likely that a project will have the elusive ‘wow’ factor.

Summary

‘Audit? I really don't feel confident about how to start!’

‘I feel very unsure about what skills I need to carry out an evaluation in my workplace.’

‘I would love to be researchactive but don't feel I have enough understanding of how to go about it.’

In a stretched global economic environment, evidencebased practice has a key role to play in demonstrating the value, impact and importance of library and information services. Evidencebased practice provides library and information science (LIS) practitioners with a platform from which to support both decisionmaking and their accountability within the organization, and research, evaluation and audit are often the fundamental elements that underpin it. Using research to inform practice is therefore a key component of evidencebased practice (Crumley and Koufogiannakis, 2002), and the benefits of research in informing LIS practice have been highlighted elsewhere in the literature (Clapton, 2010; Hall, 2010). For these reasons, it is becoming increasingly important for information practitioners to carry out research within the workplace (Hallam and Partridge, 2006).

This chapter aims to provide a useful starting point to help you begin building confidence in doing research, evaluation or audit. A collection of ideas, examples, and supportive, practical solutions will be offered to help you begin your first steps into practical LIS research. This chapter begins by discussing some of the common barriers to engaging in research, evaluation or audit by LIS practitioners and is followed by a section covering ideas and techniques for collaboration. Further sections include advice on guiding and mentoring, using research diaries and getting involved with research networks. It is hoped that the approaches to building confidence offered in this chapter will provide you with the resolve you need to begin getting involved in these types of activities and/or to begin your own project.

Barriers to engagement in research, evaluation or audit

As highlighted in Chapter 1, the term ‘research’ is often associated with empirical research carried out by academics, and this can often make it seem inaccessible and intimidating to those in LIS practice (Feather, 2009; Lawal, 2009). Furthermore, research funded by larger funding bodies may be relevant, but not always applicable at a local level. This issue is often referred to as the ‘research–practice gap’. The gap between LIS practitioners and researchers highlighted here is one area that can prevent active engagement in research by practitioners.

Summary

‘How can quantitative research help improve my library service?’

‘I'm not good with numbers and quantitative research is all about statistics, right?’

‘You mean that the information I already collect about my service can be used for “quantitative research”?’

Introduction

You might be surprised to learn that you are already doing some quantitative research as part of your library practice: you just don't label it as such. Think of the range of routine statistical collections that your organization makes – customer statistics and resource usage figures, for example. On their own these may not be very meaningful, but what happens if you compare your statistics now with statistics for a year, or two years, ago? Or how your organization compares with another organization elsewhere? Longitudinal changes in customer usage may be telling you something about the quality of the service, or the effect of increased or reduced staff inputs, but we have to be careful about linking cause and effect. One of the key messages of the examples discussed later in the chapter is the care you need to take to avoid reaching mistaken conclusions. You may want to believe that the changes are the result of reduced resourcing, or the effect of your changes in an information literacy programme but beware – there may be other reasons. This chapter will help you understand what can, and cannot, be achieved through quantitative research. The emphasis will be on some examples to illustrate some of the principles of quantitative research. You may need to consult a basic statistics textbook as well for further explanation of some of the principles of statistical analysis, and some of the highlighted terms. Chapter 9 offers an outline of some of the main ideas.

If you are familiar with the type of data being collected routinely, you are probably also aware of some of the problems in the collection and analysis of such data. Can you be sure of the reliability of the data collection? For example, are all the staff counting the items in the same way? If you are benchmarking your activity against that of another organization, are they counting in the same way that you are? Do you share the same interpretations of what it is you are counting?

Summary

Part 3 of this book has 14 chapters, written by authors from a wide range of backgrounds, that look at the potential for future library space. These chapters stand alone as individual essays on how the authors see the library from their professional perspective, giving glimpses of their version of the future. There is remarkable consensus in their view that we will continue to have places that do what libraries currently do and more – though they may not be called libraries and they may be physical or virtual, or both. My reasons for inviting such a variety of authors to contribute their ideas, as mentioned in the introduction to the book, were:

Those close to and deeply involved in the work of the library often have answers to questions about the future of libraries that are bounded by the realities of day-to-day library operations – it is, in my view, more likely that the fresh ideas for future library and learning space will come from unexpected places. Understanding the broadest range of perspectives is at least helpful and possibly invaluable when faced with unknown possibilities.

Summary

In this part of the book a number of libraries from each of six regions of the world are described in short case studies by 11 authors. The purpose of these case studies is to give some insight into important aspects of the libraries and spaces as viewed by each author. This approach contrasts with providing a systematic description of each case study using a list of common factors, such as that found in the excellent online database of UK projects compiled by Jisc infoNet (2013). Some of the authors concentrate on interior space, others spend more time describing exterior architecture, and yet others take an approach that considers ‘soft’ attributes such as educational rationale or societal impact. The variety of approach adopted shows us that library space is not an isolated component of the library but is a result of both architecture and interior design and is integrated with service, function and purpose. It also reminds us that each library is a response to specific factors seen in the context of its setting. For most case studies we have used a keyword or phrase to attempt to convey an important characteristic of each library in order to focus attention on its ‘main’ purpose.

There is a brief summary of the clear trends in these case studies at the end of Part 1, which shows that new libraries and their learning spaces across the globe have some common directions although they have developed their own identities.

Reference

Jisc infoNet (2013) Learning Spaces Infokit, www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learningspaces/ (accessed 13 August 2013).

Summary

‘I don't understand some of the decisions that are made in this place.’

‘How can I get the support I need to carry on my research?’

‘How can I ensure my project has impact?’

This book is an introduction to research, evaluation and audit techniques for library and information service practitioners. You may well have an interest in pure research for its own sake but it is more likely that you are interested in using research to prompt a change in policy or to improve service delivery. The reality is that much research never does get into practice. If you do not want this neglect to befall your own work, this chapter will give you some pointers about how to design your project with impact in mind and how to plan to influence organizations and wider communities to make use of your project findings.

In most organizations research, evaluation or audit does not take place in a vacuum. This chapter explores the important question of how you can make your project findings count, to help bring about the changes that will make your organization stronger and more responsive. Equally you may want to influence a whole sector or community of organizations. The techniques explored in this chapter can be summarized under four headings:

Summary

Scope

This is a book for anyone interested in libraries and their learning space – what exists, why it continues to be important and what really matters when planning it. The focus is on learning space in libraries that is used for learning outside the classrooms of educational organization and by personal learners in public libraries, generally referred to as informal learning space. In addition to some ideas on built space (the what), consideration is given to ideas and concepts that underpin current library learning spaces and that will inform future ones (the why and the how). ‘New old space’ – space that fails to experiment with new ideas and ways of working – is a common phenomenon in all types of building and libraries are no exception to this. McDonald (2006) identifies an intangible ‘oomph’ (or I prefer ‘wow’) factor as one of the important criteria in the quality of new library space. Creating a space that works from the day it opens is obviously important but adding that ‘wow’ to create new spaces that inspire the library community its readers, learners and staff is more challenging. Tomorrow's library and learning spaces are waiting to be invented so focusing on the future and emphasizing what libraries and learning spaces could be, what matters when we are thinking about and planning these new spaces, how spaces might be used, and how they can attract, support and inspire those who use them is fundamentally important.

The way a space is designed and configured can enable (or disable) a wide range of activities and the services it can provide – space and service are inseparable, and it can be argued that the provision of space is a service in its own right. As service provision is dependent on the amount, type and organization of the spaces in a library then service delivery approaches and the portfolio of services and support provided are inevitably linked to space development. While library services are not the focus of this book, several authors touch on service issues.

Libraries have always also been places of learning. Ideas about learning, our understanding of learning processes and the impact of technology on learning have all changed considerably in recent years and require us to rethink how we organize and manage libraries and their learning spaces.

Summary

Introduction

In Hong Kong we live in exciting times with many opportunities and challenges for reform and advancement in education – major curriculum reform, change in student demographics, and the ubiquitous use of mobile and cloud-based technologies.

Few students come to university without powerful mobile technologies, whether laptops, tablets or hand-size devices such as smartphones. Likewise, few students do not make extensive use of the free wi-fi across Hong Kong (Tsang et al., 2008) and the ever more powerful wi-fi facilities within universities and now in a growing number of schools (Chu et al., 2012). In studies into m-learning and the use of cloud-based technologies on university campuses in Hong Kong (e.g. Song and Fox, 2008; Lam, Lam and McNaught, 2010; Fox, 2011), students’ study habits have been found to be changing with the adoption of new and increasingly mobile personal technologies and the need for new learning environments and new educational services.

The 25–30% growth in education places in Hong Kong universities in 2012 has led to the need for rapid expansion of both physical and virtual services and facilities. In planning for this expansion, universities have been asking what new kinds of library learning places are needed that will suit students today and in the future. Do we need to duplicate and expand existing student services and places, designed before the introduction of new technologies and new practices or should we fundamentally rethink our physical environment, taking into account students’ changing study habits, changing curriculum requirements and emerging technological and pedagogical practices?

This chapter explores the challenges of doing things differently in Hong Kong university libraries, providing students and teaching staff with new library places that offer new ways of working and services and facilities designed to meet the needs of education today and for the future.

Background to the changing needs in Hong Kong educational libraries

September 2012 was the start of a new academic year in universities in Hong Kong unlike any other. All major universities adopted a new outcomesbased curriculum, which adds an extra year to the undergraduate degree programme. This has resulted in large-scale curriculum reform in all disciplines, creating the opportunity to consider what should be included in an undergraduate degree in the 21st century.

Summary

Introduction

In Interior Design of the 20th Century, Anne Massey (1990) states that ‘Interior design is a phenomenon born of the 20th century, to be precise the latter half of the 20th century’.

The profession of interior design is a young, evolving discipline that was first formalized in the UK as recently as the late 1960s when a number of tertiary level education courses were inaugurated. One of the most recent environments to employ interior design is the education sector and in particular libraries and learning commons. In the last ten years there has been a surge of interest in the design of ‘learning environments’, which has stimulated widespread refurbishment and building programmes in higher and further education institutions. This interest has been influenced by a complex number of cultural, pedagogic and technological developments and influences. In addition, widening access to higher education has led to greater diversity in student populations.

Oblinger (2003) provides a useful overview of the new student:

The ‘new’ student may be a seventeen-year-old high school student (a ‘Millennial’) who uses instant messaging to contact peers and teachers. The ‘new’ students may be a twenty-six-year old college student (a ‘Gen-X’ whose expectations of customer service are radically different from those of previous generations. Or the ‘new’ student may be a forty-year-old working mother (a ‘Baby-Boomer’) who is completing a degree via e learning so that she can balance work and family responsibility.

The most significant factor driving these changes is the explosion of new technology, particularly social media that enables students to participate in and debate information while sharing this with friends and colleagues often entirely online. Despite this many educators believe that there is a greater need than ever for new spaces to provide opportunities for face-to-face interaction and collaboration. The introduction of technologies to support learners has significantly changed the way that libraries, in particular, look. Evolution from banks of desktop computers to hand held or mobile devices has driven demand for new types of furniture, lighting and accessible power and data outlets. Presentation equipment supporting face-to-face collaboration has further changed the landscape of spaces, emphasizing flexible semi-private spaces with many libraries using pods or booths to facilitate this activity.

Summary

Introduction

China's dramatic rise has manifested itself in urban growth and a growing collection of stunning modern buildings, increasingly designed by native Chinese architects. Several of these buildings belong to new or massively expanded university campuses each featuring its centrepiece ‘library’. Other libraries have formed part of school or community campuses but, not generally being in standalone buildings, have been less dramatic although, ironically for the same reasons, it is these buildings that possibly show greater organizational thought.

Not unsurprisingly the emphasis of recent Chinese design has been on external form, where dramatic shapes and modern materials celebrate power, progress and an ability to match what is being done elsewhere in the world. Less thought has been paid to the subtleties of internal function. This review has revealed relatively traditional notions of what might constitute the library or ‘learning centre’. To suggest that architectural emphasis is only on the dramatic would be to sell these many talented architects short, however. The subtlety and beauty of the limited number of buildings reviewed reveals an architectural potential that will no doubt continue to grow.

Chinese library design is therefore in its infancy compared with the west and reflects the priorities of the current regime. A centralized system based on bureaucratic control does not provide much opportunity for innovation. In particular the liberal attitudes to learning and teaching that underpin the newer and more experimental UK higher education libraries appear to be absent in China. The result is a focus on library operations in most of the libraries reviewed – in simple design terms a fairly regimented arrangement of book stacks and study tables.

Seen more positively it is essential to remember that the Chinese educational system is very different from that in the west and has been for thousands of years, so much so that the Chinese mentality is different, accepting – even welcoming – a degree of control and imposed order. It is therefore clearly inappropriate to judge Chinese educational practice by the criteria that have been adopted more recently in Europe, although China is increasingly adopting western styles of operation and is increasingly operating in a western world.

Summary

‘What exactly is dissemination?’

‘My work is specific to my library; I doubt anyone else would be interested in it.’

‘When should dissemination be planned?’

Introduction

Dissemination can be a confusing term and its definition can depend on context. As library and information practitioners, many of us are familiar with dissemination as it applies in the term ‘selective dissemination of information’ or SDI. Whilst this term is also open to interpretation, it usually means a current awareness service which involves screening documents to select information to meet the specific research needs of a user and delivering that information directly to them (Hossain and Shiful, 2008). Dissemination is one of as many as 29 terms identified and used to describe knowledge to action; others include knowledge translation, knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange, research utilization, implementation and diffusion (Graham et al., 2006).

In the context of this chapter dissemination is a term used to describe ways to alert interested parties to your research findings and encourage the uptake of that evidence into practice. No particular theory or model is being advocated; presented here are ideas and suggestions to establish or improve the dissemination of research.

Dissemination is an integral part of the research process and is often included as a requirement in a researchfunding contract. Dissemination can become complex, because it involves a number of processes and different target groups, but it can and should be viewed as just another part of the wider research process. In addition to planned dissemination activities, approaches and opportunities to disseminate findings may present themselves during the research. As suggested in Chapter 11, if you are new to project work you may wish to consider approaching an experienced colleague or mentor in your workplace for their advice in developing your dissemination plan.

Plan and evaluate

A dissemination plan may contain five major elements (Carpenter et al., 2005):

Summary

This handbook has been written specifically to meet the needs of library and information science (LIS) practitioners interested in doing research to inform their own practice and the wider library and information evidence base. Whether you are a complete novice or have limited experience of undertaking evaluations, audits or ‘research’, this handbook is about you and, rather than supporting the research activities of others, it seeks to support your development and explains how evidence based library and information practice is relevant to you. It is based on the ten steps of the HEALER research toolkit and is divided into three sections, guiding those new to research through the key phases of a planning, doing and disseminating research.

In Part 1 the handbook introduces the concept of research and provides strategies for novice researchers to build their confidence as they seek to define their research question, write their research plan and consider the ethical implications of their research.

In Part 2 you get down to the nitty gritty of research, covering familiar topics such as reviewing literature as well as being introduced to the range of qualitative and quantitative methods available. It provides a pain free overview to data analysis techniques and explores the range of easy touse tools available to assist you along the way.

In Part 3 you consider how best to maximize the impact of your research in terms of writing the project up for internal and external audiences, implementing your findings into practice and the potential for the wider dissemination of your work.

Each chapter is structured to begin with a comprehensive introduction to a discrete topic area complemented with case studies drawn from a broad range of LIS contexts to illustrate the issues raised and provide lessons transferable to your own context. There are also opportunities to reflect on what you have learnt, with the intention of enabling you to apply your learning practically within your own setting.

The authors are LIS practitioners and researchers from a diverse range of sectors and geographical locations, including business, finance, national information services, public libraries, research bodies, sixthform colleges and universities from areas including Australia, the UK and the USA.

Summary

Introduction

Ssssshhhhhh! Don't tell anyone, but the university library is a hip and happening place. Learning actually happens there. Some even still have books in them. Do you need to work in a group? Do you need a quiet place of respite? Do you like studying in proximity to others? Do you need access to a fast computer? The library has become a spectrum of spaces to cater for every imaginable learning modality. Consequently librarians have become curators of learning, anticipating the resources, services and physical settings to support all levels of education and research.

An archaeological dig of the University of Alexandria dating to the 5th century revealed the instantly recognizable remnants of a series of lecture halls: tiered seating and a podium for the scholar (Majcherek, 2008). Some 1500 years later lectures remain the dominant mode of content delivery across the majority of universities, despite criticisms in recent decades regarding the effectiveness of learning in lectures (Bligh, 1972; Penner, 1984; Hodgson, 1997). In stark contrast, the university library represents a space typology that has adapted to new pedagogies and technologies emergent in the last 20 years, generating a distinctly different student experience from libraries of past eras (Jamieson, 2005).

21st-century library space – it's all about value

Where traditional libraries were typically centred on books and study carrels, the 21st-century library is developing as a dichotomy of spaces: quiet versus noisy (individual and group learning); hi-tech versus low-tech (digital and analogue activities); light versus dark (reading and multimedia activities); open versus closed (short and long duration). Furthermore, the role of books in the student learning experience is being seriously questioned, with librarians being forced to negotiate the value proposition of space for books. Do students get more value from space comprising book collections or places where they can access digital resources and study collaboratively?

In a recent focus group of first-year students discussing use of their university library, the students conveyed their systematic avoidance of sourcing books on course reading lists, in deference to digital resources they found much easier to source (Woods Bagot, 2012). A related survey of students at the same Australian university revealed that access to computers and quiet study spaces were valued above access to book collections, closely followed by demand for group study spaces (Woods Bagot, 2013).

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Frontmatter

18 - The library has left the building

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7 - Library space and technology

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10 - Thinking it through

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2 - Building confidence

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8 - Quantitative approaches

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Introduction

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Index

Introduction

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13 - What next? Applying your findings to practice

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Introduction – about this book

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4 - Hong Kong projects and trends

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PART 2 - TRENDS AND IDEAS

23 - The interior designer's view

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PART 3 - IDEAS AND FUTURES

3 - China projects and trends

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12 - Disseminating your project findings

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Preface

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Acknowledgements

14 - Books, nooks and MOOCs

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