Emerging technologies can intimidate with their cost and uncertainty—this book provides flexible options for adopting the most popular ones.
Introducing new technologies to your library can be a daunting process; they can be costly, they may be unfamiliar to many staff members, and their success is far from assured. To address these concerns, Best Technologies for Public Libraries accommodates budgets large and small, providing options for both the ambitious and the cost-conscious.
Authors Christopher DeCristofaro, James Hutter, and Nick Tanzi provide a resource for staff looking to incorporate a number of emerging technologies into their library and makerspaces. Each chapter explores a new technology, including 3D printing, drones, augmented reality, and virtual reality, covering how it works, the selection process, training, sample programming, best practices, and relevant policy. By describing a variety of program and service ideas across age groups, the book gives readers the ability to first evaluate them within the context of their own organization before incorporating ideas à la carte. This approach helps readers to adopt these new technologies and create policies with uses already in mind.
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Features
Learn the basics of how emerging technologies, including 3D printing, augmented reality, virtual reality, and drones work
Read recommendations for how these emerging technologies can be used to develop library programs and services
Build a framework for developing policy pursuant to these emerging technologies
Understand best practices in adopting the aforementioned emerging technologies
A well-trained staff is essential for the successful adoption of virtual reality technology at your library. To this end, we have identified three categories of staff interactions with the technology and the requisite knowledge needed to do so.It is important to note that these categories do not address job titles, merely responsibilities. In absence of formal requirements, such as civil service regulations, contracts or other restrictions, you may wish to assign responsibilities based on staff enthusiasm. One need only think about their favorite teachers growing up. Likely, these educators loved the subject matter and conveyed their enthusiasm when showing it to others. As you train, seek out those employees expressing excitement and determine if they can be offered a greater role in the development of programs and services.
Empowering All Staff with Basic VR Knowledge
While every single employee of the library is unlikely to utilize virtual reality in their day-to-day job responsibilities, this does not exempt them from staff training! This first level of training is more akin to an orientation to the technology, and more specifically, how you intend to use it at the library. Structure this training as a show and tell. Explain to staff what virtual reality is, and what specific equipment you’ve invested in. Demonstrate how it works. With transparency in mind, describe the potential side-effects of using a virtual reality headset. Whether or not staff wishes to try the equipment themselves, attempt to give them some insight on what it looks like to a user. In the case of a pc-connected headset, you can display the experience on a monitor, or through a projector. For an all-in-one, more will be left to the imagination, although you could show a trailer that conveys the general idea.
While every single employee of the library is unlikely to utilize virtual reality in their day-to-day job responsibilities, this does not exempt them from staff training!
Depending on how many staff you will be training, you may wish to split the instruction between the orientation and demonstration portions. While all staff can usually sit through a lecture, providing individuals with a VR experience can be time-intensive. A good option is to simply have people sign up for ten minute slots where they can use the equipment for themselves. In terms of the content of their VR experience, consider using something that is low-intensity and doesn’t require a lot of explanation. 360 video is a good entry point, as a user can simply put a headset on and observe, gaining an idea of how immersive virtual reality can be. If you instead decide to provide access to a game or more active experience, you may need to first have the user go through a VR orientation experience offered by many manufacturers.
VR Event Programmers and Facilitators
Programmers are those staff members who will be using the technology with your public, and may include enthusiastic staff members that you’ve identified in your general VR orientation. These individuals will need to be shown how to operate the equipment in depth. This training should include how to turn on and calibrate your equipment, and how to adjust the sizing on the headset. They will also need to know how to open and use the experiences you intend to offer, and some basic troubleshooting in case you encounter an issue requiring immediate attention during a program.
Do not ignore the customer service component of training!
In addition to managing the equipment, your programmers must be shown library procedure. Ensure that they understand age restrictions and your library’s policies regarding content. If you are using a waiver, these staff members should be familiar with it. While some individuals may know how to use VR personally, they must be comfortable instructing others. Can they relay instructions effectively and courteously? Do not ignore the customer service component of training!
VR Technicians
The technician is the highest level of staff training, and subsequently, the smallest group to contend with. These employees are the lead staff trainers for your virtual reality equipment. Paradoxically, as your library’s first user, they will often lack any formal training themselves. In absence of formal training, your first technician will need to be self-taught. As a first step, they should devour the owner’s manual cover to cover. They may then need to rely on product forums and web tutorials to first find their way.
Once familiar with the equipment, your technicians will become responsible for the long-term operation of the library’s virtual reality equipment, including advanced troubleshooting. They should immediately register and file away any warranties that came with the equipment to protect against potential equipment failure. Following this, they must work with library administration to develop a cleaning/maintenance cycle for the equipment that complies with the manufacturer’s instructions.
In addition to managing the equipment itself, employees in this category are responsible for purchasing and downloading content for your VR equipment. This requires them to be familiar with your library’s collection development policy, particularly if you have one specific to virtual reality. They will need to manage storage space and keep an eye on the budget associated with your VR equipment.
While the above represents a suggested assignment of responsibilities, you should feel free to develop a process that works for your own organization. Roles can, of course, be combined. Ultimately, you should choose an approach that allows you to effectively operate your equipment without creating a complex workflow that burdens staff unnecessarily.
In early 2018, Facebook announced a new emphasis on “meaningful social interactions,” a term that is meant to include traditional Likes and shares, but also places value on conversations. Facebook now gives higher visibility to posts that users wish to see—defined by their level of interaction with a given page. To truly succeed in this new social media landscape, a library must first establish itself as a preferred content provider to its followers. At its most basic, this means crafting posts that its users find truly engaging and subsequently interact with. So just what is engaging content?
Emerging technologies can intimidate with their cost and uncertainty—this book provides flexible options for adopting the most popular ones.
