The US’ National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) has announced that it will hold a one-day workshop, Digital Information and User Behavior: Transforming Libraries, Content and Learning, on June 15, 2012 in Philadelphia from 9:00am – 4:30pm EDST. Virtual attendance is optional for those unable to travel to Philadelphia and discounted registrations are available now through June 1.
The emergence of e-content, search engines and the web more than 20 years ago is seen to have shaped a new generation of information seekers. How they access, read and use information is fundamentally different from the behaviour created by the print medium. This new behaviour is transforming library infrastructures and services, is driving the conversion of books and textbooks into innovative tools for education, and is changing how traditional reference information is accessed and delivered.
How has information behaviour changed in academia? What new library infrastructures are being tested? Is a totally virtual library on the horizon? Are library collections changing and if so, how should the return on library investment being measured? Is the use of e-books and e-textbooks increasing significantly? How is the use of all this digital material changing the educational experience? And how are traditional reference works being delivered to meet the needs of today’s academic libraries and the users that they serve? The NFAIS workshop will attempt to answer these questions and look at the ongoing impact of digital information usage behaviour on those who serve the information seeker.
Highlights include an overview of current digital information usage behaviour by Carol Tenopir, Director of Research & Director of the Center for Information and Communication Studies, University of Tennessee. Case studies from Johns Hopkins University Medical library, Lesley University Library, and the Research Library at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will look at the impact of digital information usage behaviour on the future of physical holdings, collection development, new services, and the future of brick and mortar facilities.
Additionally, the workshop will take a look at the factors to be considered when measuring the ROI for libraries based upon recent research studies from Donald King, Honorary University Professor, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI and Adjunct Professor University of Tennessee; trends in global e-Book consumption from studies done by R. R. Bowker; a look at how traditional reference works and textbooks are being delivered to meet the needs of today’s users and an innovative classroom learning experience using e-textbooks and iPads recently piloted at Temple University in Philadelphia; and a look at how current trends such as use of social media may impact the future of libraries, content and learning based on research from Cathy Marshall, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research, Silicon Valley.
The program and registration forms are available at http://www.ubi.org/nfaisforms/agenreg0612.pdf.
