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Digitization and Libraries Mary Othic LIS 701.5 March 16, 2010

The issue of digitization and libraries is an important issue in todays world. As society moves into a more digital world we as librarians need to take a long look at the digitization of information and use our set of values to make sure that this period of change takes place in a way that will make the world of the library better. In this paper, I will first look at what is happening today in digitization, including the efforts already undertaken by Google in this area, and how we can work together to manage this change. Second, I will talk about the affects this change will have on our "brick and mortar" libraries and finally, I will discuss the future of books, including the issue of control and the possibility of new interactive aspects in books. Libraries and Digitization Today The world is a quickly changing place where technology is becoming more present in all of our daily activities. We are living in a day when the digitization of information is the norm. The information we use comes in more digitized forms than non-digitized. It used to be that people got up in the morning, sat at their kitchen table to eat breakfast and picked up the daily newspaper to read. . Today, people rush out of their house, grab a Starbucks coffee and sit down in front of their office computer to read not just the news online but more likely a blog or a website that serves their specific interests. These changes have also made their way into the world of books. Digital readers, like the Kindle, are becoming more common and user friendly. Libraries need to keep up with and use this technology in a way that benefits them and their patrons.. Digitization of a librarys collection is a practical use of the technology but is rife with issues. Digitizing a collection can be very expensive and time consuming especially for libraries who often have small budgets or few staff members. That is a part of the reason there was great interest by many libraries in participating when Google decided to take on the project of digitizing books from libraries. Google has the money to devote time and staff to making its goal of

digitizing more than fifteen million books come true. Trudi Bellardo Hahn states that Previously, the libraries involved had thought that such a digitization project would take far longer--when library staff at the University of Michigan were asked in 2004 how long it would take to digitize Michigans seven million volumes, the answer was more than 1,000 years. It is easy to see then why some libraries would turn their collections over to Google to digitize. While it is a good thing that libraries can save money and time by having Google (or now other large companies) digitize their collections there are issues that come along with this partnership. Libraries are places that preserve information and make it available to the public. Care needs to be taken when that information is digitized. One issue is the care that is taken in preserving the book accurately and making the digital copy clear and readable. As libraries go about digitizing their own collections they take into consideration keeping the digitization exactly as the book is and making it an accurate representation. In the article Googles Great Works in Progress by Burt Helm Andrew Herkovic (Sanford University Librarian) is quoted as saying, If we were paying for this, if we were driving the [quality specifications], they would be different from what Google is offering. Other issues with Googles project are copyright laws, Googles future intent for the use of these books and the sustainability of this project over time to name a few. Google is a corporation and it seems that they care more about efficiency than taking the time to think things through and respecting the books as a librarian would. However, google is not necessarily the bad guy they are sometimes made out to be. It seems that digitization is a necessary and unavoidable part of the future of books so why dont we all just work together. It is time to get the involved parties to meet and work in unison to create a wonderful digitized world of books. Throughout history, as things change and progress we have to work together to create guidelines and bounderies for the system. When MARC records were being

developed they had a conference to make sure that everyone was on board with the basics of the system. When the United Stated were forming there was a gathering of men to ensure that there were ground rules that would give us a basis to live by- the constitution. Why not have the same thing for digitization. Bring together publishers, librarians, corporation, , and all those interested in helping to determine the best way to digitize this information and make a system that will move our library collections into the future.

Affects on Brick and Mortar Libraries The affects of digitization on libraries as we know them today could be dramatic but even a digital library needs someone to keep the collection in order and to help others navigate. As more of our libraries become digital less time is spent in the actual library. It used to be that you had to go to the library to work on a research paper. It was necessary to flip through books to find the information and scan rolls of microfiche for the journal article that would support your topic but more and more of this vital information is now digitized. Libraries have vast collections of journals that they subscribe to which are available online. That means that you can sit at home and do your research. And as more items are digitized, the need to go anywhere other than your own computer to find reliable information will become less and less. With this freedom from a physical space comes the ability to provide an unlimited amount of information. The size of a collection is no longer determined by the number of shelves available. Those journal article that can be flipped through at home are also much greater in the number of them available. They also can be shared more easily. Not available in your library? Just search at another library to see if they have a copy you can use. Just imagine what a change this is from

when your grandparents were using their library. This is exciting because we have only just begun the process of digitization. These changes that digitization brings with it do not only apply to academic libraries. Academic libraries have more of a presence right now in the public discussions of digitization but these changes will affect all libraries. As collections become digitized and made available all types of libraries will need to change and become more of an online presence. Services will need to be tailored to the patron that is using a library from home. Librarians will need to be able to direct patrons and help answer question that are virtual in nature. We are heading to a future where the physical space of a library building is no longer necessary or where it will look completely different than it does today. The Future As we move into a time where digitization is something that is done with every book, where we are not just looking at taking physical books that have already been printed and digitizing them, one of the main concerns is losing control. This is an area that seems to be of concern for everyone. Authors, publishers, librarians, corporations, digital technicians, they all want to know what their claim is to the item. Who has control of it or what part do they control? Who is responsible for it? Who gets credit? Who takes the blame? Once and item is digitized and out there for everyone to use how do we keep control. These are important questions that need to be solved by working together. In Hahns article, Karen Wittenberg, director of Columbia Universitys Electronic Publishing Initiative eloquently states, We need to face the fact that commercial search engines are now the mechanism of choice for finding information, and we desperately need Goolge and other powerful players as valued partners with whom we will negotiate effective ways of collaborating that benefit our businesses and our users.

To go even a step further, digitization may change not only libraries but the books themselves. In the article The Social Life of Books, author Andrew Richard Albanese records a conversation with Ben Vershbow where Vershbow talks about the idea that soon, books will literally have discussions inside of them, both live chats and asynchronous exchanges through comments and social annotations. You will be able to see who else out there is reading that book and be able to open up a dialog with them. This interesting idea opens up a whole new world of ideas about what the future of books, libraries and librarians could be. As librarians, we could be leading patrons not only to the right book but to the book that has a chat going on about our research topic. We may be adding instructions to Strunk and Whites The Elements of Style or other reference books for citing scholarly chat conversations in our papers. Through this process of digitization, libraries need to be accepting of change and we need to work with Google and others to set an excellent foundation for the future. As all types of libraries make this transition the look and even the physical state of the library may change. Even though there are many challenges to be navigated and adaptations to be made as we go forward on our way into the world digitization, its bound to be an exciting adventure.

Works Cited

Albanese, Andrew Richard. The Social Life of Books. Library Journal 131.9 (2006): 28-30. Wilson Web. Web 12 Mar. 2010.

Anderson, Chris. The Long Tail. Wired, Oct 2004, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html Web 12 Mar. 2010.

Balas, Janet L. "By Digitizing, Are We Trading Future Accessibility for Current Availability?." Computers in Libraries Mar. 2007: 30+. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 16 Mar. 2010.

Burt Helm, Googles Great Works in Progress. Business Week Online, Dec 22, 2005,
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051222_636880.htm

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Hahn, Trudi Bellardo. Mass Digitization: Implications for Preserving the Scholarly Record. Library Resources &Technical Services 52.1 (2008): 18-26. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. EBSCO. Web 12 Mar. 2010.