1. Digital Leadership for Libraries
Preliminary Findings
April 2014

2. Looking ahead: 5-10 years
• A long time in technology terms
• Iphone released in 2007 – now 500m sold,
1.5bn smartphones in total
• DARPA driverless vehicle challenge in 2004 – a
complete failure. But by 2012, Google
announced driverless cars had driven 300,000
miles on US roads.

3. Two types of trend
• Technological:
easier to predict,
based on long-term
market dynamics
• Human / social:
harder to predict,
based on individual
and organisational
decisions

4. Internet speeds will continue to
increase

5. But divergence between areas will
remain an issue

6. Access will continue to improve

7. Access will continue to improve

8. Digital by default will force many non-
users to access public services online
• Libraries already an important route for
individuals to access public services online
(e.g. registering for school places) but offline
or face to face remains an option
• JobMatch and Universal Credit represent next
stage of development with no offline option
• So what happens when “digital by default”
meets “digital divide”?
• Who provides that support?

9. Software will continue to get smarter
• More computing power plus cheaper sensors
and transmitters means more and more
human work can be automated or computer-
assisted.
• E.g.:
– Automated sports news writing
– Legal document search
– Accountancy

10. MOOCs open new opportunities for
learning
• (Massively Open Online Courses)
• A large number of platforms already
• Coursera and EdX have 6.3m users between
them
• Many currently free but experimenting with
charging and certification options
• Not clear what the potential is for offline
support of online courses

11. (EdX – founded by MIT and Harvard)

12. Big Data creates new opportunities to
improve customer experience
• Use of large datasets to develop deep insights
into users / customers / processes
• E.g.:
– UPS used data from trucks to redesign its driver
routes - reduced fuel usage by 1.5m gallons in
2012
– Insurers using more detailed data to tailor
premiums to risk
– NHS big data…watch this space!

13. New types of hardware enable people
to become makers / programmers
• The balance between individuals as consumers and
creators
• 3D printers now available for less than £500
• LEGO Mindstorms provides simple set of tools for
young people to learn ‘real world’ industrial robotics
• Raspberry Pi is a cheap single-board computer for
learning basic coding
• These technologies will become cheaper and more
accessible over the next 5-10 years
• …A new era of “Good Life” self-sufficiency?

14. E-books will take larger share of the
market – but printed books will remain
Amazon Sales (2012)

15. There is a lot of uncertainty about
future e-book platforms
• Library e-book services are clearly sub-optimal
– physical book remains superior format for
many, too much fragmentation, DRM and
format issues.
• What role for private e-book lenders? (think
Spotify / Netflix)
• Can libraries develop a credible platform (e.g.
BBC Iplayer)

16. E-books open up new opportunities
• Self publishing
• Shorter and longer formats
• Local content
• Mixed media – mixing text with pictures,
audio, video, games.
• Examples already – e.g. HarperCollins
enhanced E-books – but not clear if this is a
major trend

17. Computer science revival in education
• High status jobs are those which create
technology rather than utilise technology
• But we lost our way with ICT in schools
"Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how
it's made. That is just throwing away your great computing heritage”
Eric Schmidt, Google
• EU “app economy” accounts for 1.8 million jobs,
and 5 million by 2018
• New computer science curriculum - Sept 2014
• But schools are struggling, plus children will need
tools and support outside school too

18. Text will remain important but video
will be used more for accessing info
• Reading remains the fastest way to process
information
• But video requires less effort and is more
engaging
• Video is now accessible across a range of
topics
• The same challenges of accessing reliable /
quality information remain

19. Some early conclusions…
• Significant technological change
• New opportunities: access to learning,
streamlining operations, access to hardware.
• But also major challenges – books will not
disappear but now part of a much broader mix of
information media
• A contradiction? Digital reduces the need for
physical space – but physical / local space is the
USP
• Libraries need a vision for how to use digital
services and what this means for the existing
service mix – this includes a national level offer