Top Tech Trends Archives | American Libraries Magazine

(Left to right) Trevor Watkins, , Hannah Byrd Little, director of library and archives at the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, Jonathan McMichael, undergraduate success librarian at Arizona State University, Fernando A, and Kate Delaney, public services librarian at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine discuss ChatGPT and other generative AI tools at ALA Annual 2023 in Chicago.

Information Literacy for the ChatGPT Age

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2023

Delaney moderated the “Core Top Ten Technology Trends: Libraries Take On ChatGPT” panel Saturday, June 24, at American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Four panelists from public, academic, and school libraries shared thoughts on what library workers should know about the technology, how it’s being used, and the potential risks and … Continue reading Information Literacy for the ChatGPT Age →

Libraries and Invasive Technology

By Amy Carlton | January 24, 2021

John Mack Freeman, manager of Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library’s Suwanee branch, opened with a clip that appeared to show former US President Barack Obama voicing support for Black Panther movie villain Erik Killmonger. (The clip was actually a BuzzFeed-produced PSA from director Jordan Peele, who imitated Obama’s speech patterns with cleverly synched video.) It … Continue reading Libraries and Invasive Technology →

Top Tech Trends: COVID Considerations

By Amy Carlton | June 24, 2020

Privacy and security Jeremy Kurtz, director of systems and security at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, said that as an important part of privacy, information security is important to manage. Kurtz recommended that libraries use the Center for Internet Security’s 20 controls and resources. But, he added, vendor management is also vital. Just because … Continue reading Top Tech Trends: COVID Considerations →

Top Tech Trends Focus on Privacy

By Amy Carlton | January 26, 2020

Moderator Ida Joiner, senior librarian at the Universal Academy School in Irving, Texas, was joined by panelists Victoria Blackmer, assistant director of Robert R. Jones Public Library in Coal Valley, Illinois; Marshall Breeding, independent library consultant; Elisandro Cabada, medical and bioengineering librarian at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Alison Macrina, founder and executive director … Continue reading Top Tech Trends Focus on Privacy →

The MERGE Cube AR STEM toy works with a smartphone.

Tech Trends

By Alison Marcotte | March 1, 2019

American Libraries spoke with three library tech leaders—panelists from the Library and Information Technology Association’s Top Tech Trends panel at the 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits—about what apps, devices, software, and best practices their libraries have implemented and how others can, too. Explore immersive technologies Libraries haven’t fully explored the potential of virtual reality (VR), … Continue reading Tech Trends →

2018’s Top Tech Trends

By Carrie Smith | June 26, 2018

Independent technology consultant Marshall Breeding moderated the discussion, which focused on upcoming technological shifts such as: Quantum Computing Jason Bengtson, assistant director of library IT services at Kansas State University Libraries, kicked things off by explaining quantum computing. While traditional, digital computers use bits (which store a 1 or 0), a quantum computer uses qubits, … Continue reading 2018’s Top Tech Trends →

Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces

By Samuel R. Putnam | June 25, 2017

“Makerspaces should meet the needs of your patrons and be built around your budget and staff,” shared Radniecki. Here are some other helpful tips she shared regarding managing makerspaces: Fees are fine. Some libraries cannot comprehend a makerspace model that charges anything, even if they are offering services that commercial services like Shapeways offer at … Continue reading Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces →

Top Library Tech Trends

By Alison Marcotte | May 1, 2017

American Libraries spoke to library tech leaders—members of the Library and Information Technology Association’s popular Top Tech Trends panel from the 2017 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits—to get the apps, devices, software, and best practices that you can adopt for your library right now and in the near future. 1. Take patrons on a virtual tour … Continue reading Top Library Tech Trends →

Three panelists from Sunday’s Top Tech Trends program. From left: Lauren Comito, Laura Costello, and Nick Grove

LITA’s Top Tech Trends

By George M. Eberhart | June 27, 2016

The panelists were Blake Carver, LYRASIS; Lauren Comito, Queens (N.Y.) Library; Laura Costello, Stony Brook (N.Y.) University; Carolyn Coulter, PrairieCat Library Consortium; and Nick Grove, Meridian (Idaho) Library District. Here are some of the questions: What is the next top tech trend? Comito: Teaching underlying concepts, not specific devices. Costello: Real-time library data: What are … Continue reading LITA’s Top Tech Trends →

LITA Top Tech Trends

By Willie M. Miller | January 10, 2016

The first panelist to speak was Jamie Hollier, co-owner and co-CEO of Anneal, a technology consulting company. Her first trend was an increase in interoperability related to data. She discussed ways that interoperability was important to communication, data standards, and infrastructure. With data standards, Hollier identified that the medical industry is creating standards for electronic … Continue reading LITA Top Tech Trends →

Top Tech Trends 2014

By Sanhita SinhaRoy | January 26, 2014

“We are in the business of making resources available, and we shouldn’t forget that,” said Emily Gore, director for content of the Digital Public Library of America. Gore was one of five panelists speaking to an estimated 200 attendees at LITA’s popular event reporting on changes and advances in technology. Each panelist and the moderator … Continue reading Top Tech Trends 2014 →

Latest Library Links

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Michael Kan writes: “Are you still using ‘chocolate,’ ‘naruto,’ or ‘monkey’ for your passwords? You really need to stop. All three are among the most commonly used passwords, putting your accounts at risk of hacking, according to new data from NordPass. The password manager’s sixth annual list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords is pulled from a 2.5TB dataset of stolen logins taken from various sources.” ZDNet offers tips for creating stronger passwords and improved security measures.

PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
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John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
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Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13

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