A while ago, I gave a webinar on the topic of the new technology frontier for libraries. This webinar was given for the South Central Regional Library Council Webinar Series. I don’t get asked to pick technologies that I think are exciting for libraries and library patrons too often. So I went wild! These are the six technology trends that I picked.
- Maker Programs
- Programmable Biology (or Synthetic Biology)
- Robots
- Drones
- Bitcoin (Virtual currency)
- Gamification (or Digital engagement)
OK, actually the maker programs, drones, and gamification are not too wild, I admit. But programmable biology, robots, and bitcoin were really fun to talk about.
I did not necessarily pick the technologies that I thought would be widely adopted by libraries, as you can guess pretty well from bitcoin. Instead, I tried to pick the technologies that are tackling interesting problems, solutions of which are likely to have a great impact on our future and our library patrons’ lives. It is important to note not only what a new technology is and how it works but also how it can influence our lives, and therefore library patrons and libraries ultimately.
Below are my slides. And if you must, you can watch the webinar recording on Youtube as well. Would you pick one of these technologies if you get to pick your own? If not, what else would that be?
