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NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Library Edition
The report describes findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in technology are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, giving library leaders and staff a valuable guide for strategic technology planning.
The format of the report was designed to provide these leaders with more in-depth insight into how the trends and challenges are accelerating and impeding the adoption of technology, along with their implications for policy, leadership, and practice.
"Nowhere on university campuses has technology had a more sweeping impact than on their libraries," says Larry Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the NMC and co-principal investigator for the project. "It is critically important for the field that the unique needs and perspectives of those who work in academic and research libraries are at the center of this second annual report."
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| Download the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition (PDF) |
Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption for Academic and Research Libraries
The
NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition identifies
"Increasing Value of the User Experience" and "Prioritization of Mobile Content
and Delivery" as short-term impact trends driving changes in academic and
research libraries over the next one to two years. The "Evolving Nature of the
Scholarly Record" and "Increasing Focus on Research Data Management" are
mid-term impact trends expected to accelerate technology use in the next three
to five years; and "Increasing Accessibility of Research Content" and
"Rethinking Library Spaces" are long-term impact trends,
anticipated to impact libraries for the next five years or more.
"The trends identified by the expert panel indicate that libraries are doing a better job of making their content more accessible and adapting library spaces to meet the needs of the contemporary, connected academic community," says Rudolf Mumenthaler, Professor of Library Science at HTW Chur and co-principal investigator of the report. "The outcomes of the report are very compelling, and it is an honor for HTW Chur to be deeply involved in this project."
Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption In Academic and Research Libraries
A
number of challenges are acknowledged for presenting barriers to the mainstream
use of technology in academic and research libraries. "Embedding Academic and
Research Libraries in the Curriculum" and "Improving Digital Literacy" are
perceived as solvable challenges - those which we both understand and know how
to solve. "Competition from Alternative Avenues of Discovery" and "Rethinking
the Roles and Skills of Librarians" are considered difficult challenges, which
are defined as well understood but with solutions that are elusive. Described as
wicked challenges are "Embracing the Need for Radical Change" and "Managing
Knowledge Obsolescence," which are complex to define, much less
address.
"Do we still need libraries? Wrong question! The release of the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition brings us many examples of the lively adoption of new technologies in libraries around the globe," shares Andreas Kirstein, Vice Director and Head of Media and IT Services at ETH-Bibliothek and co-principal investigator of the project. "These forward-looking approaches are the answer to the better question: What kind of libraries do we need in the future?"
Important Developments in Technology for Academic and Research Libraries
Additionally,
the report identifies "Makerspaces" and "Online Learning" as technologies and
digital strategies that are expected to enter mainstream use in the first
horizon of one year or less. "Information Visualization" along with "Semantic
Web and Linked Data" are seen in the second horizon of two to three years;
"Location Intelligence" as well as "Machine Learning" are seen emerging in the
third horizon of four to five years.
"This report is another crucial step forward for academic and research libraries, which are now being seen as incubators for experimenting with emerging technologies and are even leading the way at many university campuses across the world," says Lambert Heller, Head of Open Science Lab at the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) and co-principal investigator of the project.
The subject matter in this report was identified through a qualitative research process designed and conducted by the NMC that engages an international body of experts in libraries, education, technology, research, business, and other fields around a set of research questions designed to surface significant trends and challenges and to identify emerging technologies with a strong likelihood of adoption in academic and research libraries. The NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition details the areas in which these experts were in strong agreement.
"The report has highlighted key themes and technological trends that are shaping the evolution of academic and research libraries," says Franziska Regner, Head of Innovation and Development at ETH-Bibliothek and co-principal investigator of the report. "This has been an exciting project to be a part of, and I look forward to seeing how library leaders and staff in innovation units use these findings to inform their strategies and methodological approaches for the long-term."
The NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition is available online, free of charge, and is released under a Creative Commons license to facilitate its widespread use, easy duplication, and broad distribution.
About the New Media
Consortium '
The New Media Consortium is an international not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. For 22 years, the NMC and its members have dedicated themselves to exploring and developing potential applications of emerging technologies for learning, research, and creative inquiry.
The New Media Consortium is an international not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. For 22 years, the NMC and its members have dedicated themselves to exploring and developing potential applications of emerging technologies for learning, research, and creative inquiry.
To learn more, visit www.nmc.org.
About ETH-Bibliothek Zürich
The ETH-Bibliothek, established in 1855, is the main library serving the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the largest public natural scientific and technical library in Switzerland. It has a major influence on technical developments in Swiss libraries in general. The extensive information resources held by the ETH-Bibliothek range from traditional media such as printed books and journals to electronic data resources. The collections cover all the specialist fields of education and research at ETH Zürich:
− Architecture
and Civil Engineering
− Engineering
Sciences
− Natural
Sciences and Mathematics
−
System-oriented Natural Sciences
− Management
and Social Sciences
For more information, visit:
http://www.library.ethz.ch/en.
About the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), Hannover
Founded in 1959 by the German Research Foundation, the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), Hannover provides students, researchers, and teaching staff with literature and specialized information in printed and electronic form from all faculties of the Leibniz Universität Hannover. It is the German National Library for technology as well as civil engineering, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The TIB is also the world's largest specialized library for science and technology and part of the national research infrastructure. Its function is the comprehensive procurement and archival storage of technical scientific literature from all over the world.
To learn
more about TIB, visit: http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en.html.
About University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur
The University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur was founded in 1963 and is a member of the Universities of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland (FHO). With approximately 1600 students, HTW Chur is a public federal institution with national and international flair, where bachelor, master and further education studies are offered in the six faculties of "Civil Engineering and Architecture," "Information Science," "Management," "Media and Communication," "ICT/Technology," and "Tourism."
For more information on HTW Chur, visit: http://www.htwchur.ch/en.html.
Source: New Media Consortium and NewMediaConsortium Channel (YouTube)
