Lib 2.0 is in Beta Release Queen’s University Library March 6, 2006 Towards the Information Ecology Michael Ridley Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Chief Librarian University of Guelph

Information Ecology Speaking about the Future “The future always arrives too fast... and in the wrong order.” Alvin Toffler “The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet.” William Gibson

Information Ecology I’m an academic librarian. I feel your pain. I’m also a CIO and university administrator. So, I come to you from the dark side. Disclaimer

Information Ecology Stewardship Democracy Service Rationalism Privacy Equity of Access Intellectual Freedom Literacy and Learning Our Enduring Values

Information Ecology “When simple change becomes transformational change, the desire for continuity becomes a dysfunctional mirage.” The Mirage of Continuity (1999) Hawkins & Battin

Information Ecology Why the “Information Ecology?” An environmental metaphor that connotes: Organic and Deliberate Interdependent and Diverse Fragile and Strong

Information Ecology Web 2.0 & Lib 2.0 Blogs Wikis RSS Tagging Mashups Social Networking Open Access Integrated Library System Standards Interoperability User Centered

Information Ecology Two Major Transformations to Environment a) Managed Digital Space b) Academic Town Square 1. From database/repository Towards the Information Ecology

Information Ecology Two Major Transformations to Information Finding People 2. From people finding information a) Ubiquitous Access b) Personalized Tools Towards the Information Ecology

Information Ecology Paul Saffo Institute for the Future “The future belongs to neither the conduit or content players, but to those who control the filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely on to navigate through the expanses of cyberspace.” filtering, searching and sense-making tools

Information Ecology Key Observations Collaboration Information Resources Digital Preservation Evaluation and Assessment

Information Ecology Collaboration Powerful value Pragmatic strategy Teaching & Learning... Research?

Information Ecology Information Resources Distributed, global academic library Library as publisher Curatorial role: context, continuity, authenticity & authority Open Access & Rights Management

Information Ecology Digital Preservation Stewardship & digital fragility Challenges: –technical –organizational –financial –conceptual

Information Ecology Evaluation and Assessment Accountability Align Measure Assess Vision

Street Cred: What is Guelph Doing?

Information Ecology Your Moment of Zen... “To remain what it is, the library must change if it does not change, it will not remain what it is.” David Penniman University at Buffalo

Lib 2.0 is in Beta Release Towards the Information Ecology Michael Ridley Chief Information Officer (CIO) & Chief Librarian University of Guelph