I really enjoyed the lecture concerning the “Challenges to Campus Use of the Kindle.” When the first speaker from Reed began to talk about how they used the kindle as a pilot I thought the accusations from the DOJ seemed a little intense. Especially when Reed explained that they had no blind students at the school, let alone the test pilot. However, after the speaker from the DOJ began to talk, I began to think about a whole set of issues I never thought to consider before. I was completely impressed with the passion of the DOJ speaker, and the lengths that his organization would go through to protect the rights and equity of disabled students.
This lecture got me thinking about the fate of technology and its use on college campuses. When the representative from Princeton said that they used 50 million pieces of paper a year, I guess I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but it was a shocking number. Especially since 10 million pieces of paper where used by students who were printing out digitized texts (as I do for all of my grad school classes). Shockingly, with the use of the kindle, there was a 40% reduction in paper usage! That is huge! But then, after listening to the DOJ representative, at what cost to students are we saving this paper?
It sounds like there are alternatives to help students with disabilities receive the services they need; however, these alternatives are not always available when needed. So I guess the major question that came to my mind was: how can technology continue to integrate itself into college campuses while keeping in mind everyone’s current learning needs? (Well, I guess I kind of stole this major question from the lecture itself). Also- if there are not people such as the DOJ keeping tabs on universities, will there be separate and unequal use of technology without campuses realizing it?
But then again, perhaps we don’t have to worry about this necessarily with the kindle… as mentioned, its major flaws were: you cannot see multiple pages at one and you cannot write on it. What college students need is material that is “accessible and annotatable.” I am curious to know what technological advances will be made that truly be accessible and annotatable. A point was made in the lecture that it is predicted that by 2015 there will be no more print on college campuses… is this really possible? Isn’t this suggesting that the print book is not far from extinction? This seems to open a whole can of worms in terms of preservation and accessibility. And on a side note… aren’t we worried about our eyes? One summer I worked in an office creating databases of parts of tools, staring at a computer screen for 9 hours a day. It also happened to be the Summer Olympics, to which I would return home and watch about 3-4hours of Olympic Coverage. Needless to say, I ended that summer with terrible eye strain and repeatable headaches. (Have I made this point before? If not, I have definitely thought about it numerous times). If we get rid of print all together… are there physical affects to our bodies we should be concerned about? Lots to think about in this lecture, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
(PS… did anyone else see what was written up on the white board during the presentation?? “You+Thai Food+Wine= Fun” HA!)
I would like to tie aspects of “The Future of the Academic Library” to the article, “The Library as Place: Changes in Learning Patterns, Collections, Technology, and Use.” Specifically- the issue of the library as a social place for group study. One point made in the lecture was that academic libraries should start to resemble a “commons” or “bookstore” model. They also made the comment that libraries “should look like an Apple store.” The lecturers were insinuating that the number of print resources in libraries should drop with the use of so many materials becoming digital, and the space should be used to create common areas for students to converse, study, and learn. They even suggested that it should be the “heart of the academic community.” Now, I am not suggesting that group study facilities are unnecessary by any means, but to turn a library into something that resembles an Apple store? To get rid of the majority of print material? I feel like we are just not there yet. Yes, computers are necessary. Yes, group space is necessary. But, yes… print material is still valuable too. Perhaps I am just being narrow minded here, but I cannot see print being completely phased out of academic libraries within the next 10 years. Then again, I don’t spend a heck of a lot of time in academic libraries anymore, so maybe my ideas are outdated by 5 years or so.
But with this switch to digitization and the structures of libraries in general , I can’t help but wonder… what is the fate of public libraries? Is this the way that public libraries will go too? What is the fate of fiction books? Would anyone really want to read a 700 page Harry Potter book as an ebook? Or, if materials are downloaded, and then printed… isn’t this hugely wasteful? (Think back to the previous lecture and the Princeton paper claims). Would it not be better to have paper copies in libraries and to utilize a highly effective method of inter library loans? I really don’t know the answers to these questions. I completely agree that the format of libraries is changing, and the changes are necessary to keep with current technologies; however, I wonder if at some point people are going to think that we are making things more difficult than they used to be? I find this topic very interesting, yet slightly daunting. I am very interested to see the directions in which academic libraries head. I am a huge fan of print copies, and would hate to see them die out completely. There is something to be said for having a physically having a resource, in terms of usage and preservation. And if digitization does “take over” what is going to happen to all of the print copies of resources? Will they just be discarded because they don’t need them anymore? That seems like a colossal waste as paper and resources. Just my opinion… I would be interested in hearing others.
(PS What was with all the references to gin in this lecture? Between this and the white board in the last lecture… I am beginning to wonder what kind of a conference this was! Just kidding)
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