Recipe for IT – Librarians’ Collaboration

Presenters: Deb Hunt, Mechanics’ Institute and Scott Hargrove, Fraser Valley Regional Library

• Librarians know audiences – who they are, what they look for and how – we are great connectors
• We have expertise in building metadata schema and taxonomies
• Recognize the business value that finding information brings to an organization – we do what IT people do but call it something different
• Librarians can create IP policies that address copyright issues
• We have a big picture view

The Librarian’s Skillbook: 51 Essential Skills for Information Professionals - www.librarianskillbook.com – parallel careers, work for librarians outside libraries

For librarians: learning to be a geek

• “I can do that”
• Let go of library stuff that no one else cares about
• Invest in yourself, adding certifications and education wherever you can
• Read a lot and attend free and paid webinars
• Spend time with IT folks, who will become your allies
• Call upon your network for help when needed.

Scott Hargrove – IT professional working in a library, with degrees in both.

• IT touches everything – for new projects, always ask first what the tech implications are and involve IT, rather than telling them halfway through the project or toward the end
• No such thing as a silver bullet. Things that seem simple aren’t necessarily so.
• Chains are only as strong as the weakest link – problem may be a part of the chain that IT can’t control.
• Rate of change is FAST
• Details matter – communication is key. Librarians and IT folk both have preference for introversion, but it’s critical to communicate. 90% of work for IT staff is up front, before the project goes to other staff.
• IT and policy – run policies past IT to make sure that the policy will work
• Money flow – don’t buy computers using one-time grants. Nothing lasts longer than 4-5 years, so computers will need to be replaced at that time.
• Social media is not IT. IT is series of highly specialized fields. Don’t ask IT staff to set up your Facebook page.
• 90% of IT is invisible to the average user, but it can still sink ships if the 90% is ignored.
• Ignore security at your peril – passwords known by more than one person can lead to fraud
• Redundancy, over-engineering and redundancy
• Get involved! Accept the black box – you don’t need to know everything about technology but be aware of basic information about it and how it affects you. Lots of areas of common ground.

How do IT people learn about libraries and vice versa? Library conferences, Webinars, blogs, etc. Include IT on planning committees. Communicate. Meetings/walks.

Information security – a field that library professionals could work in.

The Library Director must set culture that supports both sides.