Theological libraries and change of media

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Theological libraries and change of media
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Libraries are service institutions of parent
organisations

• memory in the Body of Christ
• pointer finger
• stewardship and access
• hospitality

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Library
Chapel
Classroom
Field site
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Libraries are service institutions of parent
organisations

• - What do users want/need?
• - Depends on generation and on area of study
• - No representative studies, but some
  observations, informed guesses
• - Can libraries change ahead of their parent
  institutions?

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Problems with e-resources

• Few high quality and relevant materials
• Costs, access and use questions
• Preservation of digital materials
• Community and spiritual formation
• How will the future church look like?

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Print and electronic culture

• intensifies a right brain encounter with God
• retrieves Eastern Orthodox and medieval Catholic
  spirituality
• reverses our capacity for abstract thought and
  critical reasoning skills
• questions our belief that conversion is a
  one-time binary event
• weakens the role of abstract propositional faith

• individualistic
• abstract thinking
• objectivity
• rationality
• distance from emotional life

Hipps, following MacLuhan, 2005
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Theology of technology?

• MacLuhan, Understanding media the extensions of
  men
• Difference between tools and machines
• Are users ready for the technology?

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Predictions for future

• Death of print?
• Content does not transfer well from one medium to
  another
• Hybrid libraries

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Problems of hybrid library

• Need to house large amount of materials in
  various forms
• Need to test technology before accepting it
• Hybrid library draws double expense
• Moral and spiritual responsibility?
• Roles and tasks as well as the view of
  librarians jobs needs to be different

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Roles and tasks

• Multi-media user comfortable with a wide range
  of formats
• Intermediary with a good knowledge of sources
  and user requirements
• Metadata producer creating records of
  information sources in a variety of schemas
• Communicator formally and informally connecting
  with users
• Team player working with colleagues in library,
  IT services and academics
• Trainer / educator taking on a formal role to
  teach information skills and information literacy
  
• Evaluator sifting free and paid for resources
  on behalf of users
• Negotiator dealing with publishers and
  suppliers
• Project manager leading on development projects
  to enhance the service
• Innovator not just following the routine but
  also looking at improved ways to deliver the
  service
• Fund-raiser working for greater income from the
  institution and beyond

Ariadne, 2001
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Skills

• Technical and IT skills
• Flexibility
• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to learn quickly
• Communication skills
• Negotiating skills
• People skills
• Presentation skills
• Teaching skills
• Team working skills
• Customer service skills
• Analytical and evaluative skills
• Subject skills
• Project management skills
• Vision

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Future?

• Theological libraries will still have a
  substantial and growing print collection
• Libraries will continue to serve as places
• One size for all does not work need to serve
  each individual user with their varied needs and
  abilities
• working against Google and digitization efforts
  is not an option how can we work with them?