The Web Difference

1:05: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We have guests today. 1. Kim, The head of Harvard’s Library. 2. Admitted students 2011. Introductions all around.

1:10: The future of (law) libraries. Palfrey is going to lecture for the first few minutes.

Do we think about libraries differently now because of the web? Consider three perspectives: 1. What is the role of the student? Digital natives (students) approach information differently than in the past 2. What is the role of a teacher? 3. What is the role of the law school library?

1:15:
Section 1: Students
Digital natives born after 1980. Things about the digital natives that may affect how we think about libraries: 1. The notion of “connective-ness”. In any given setting we are getting information from all angles. Leads to multitasking. 2. We perceive information as being of a digital nature, as opposed to analog. 3. Most important is the movement from consumers to creators. In the past, the only person doing cataloging in the library was a librarian, now the web could enable anyone do the cataloging.

1:20:
Pressures that come from this. Section 2: Teachers (Professionals)
How is the job of the teacher evolving to adapt the digital age? What are the “literacies” that teachers should strive to teach students? There is a huge gap between skills in the digital age (digital gap).
How do students and teachers connect? Is it appropriate to be friends with teachers on FB? How do we use emergent tools?

Section 3: The Harvard Law School Library
Information: There is a reorientation of what it is that the library is providing, Digital information. Does the Law School have an obligation to change how it presents its information? E.g. Open Access

In the world of non-rivalrous good, is there a need for constructive scarcity?

How would a digital library interact with copyright? If you spend all of the money on books, you own some at the end of the day. However, if you spend all the money on digital access, you may not be collecting anything. If someone turns the switch off, you don’t have the physical books anymore. You may be left with nothing.

How do we fund the credible creation of information? Should we partner with Google to digitize the library? Is this a good arrangement for libraries? Will this info be searchable to the public? Kim: only one million (7%) of books in Harvard are being scanned because Harvard is only scanning books not in copyright and a there are a lot of fragile or cumbersome works that Google will not scanned. The million works copied by Google will be searchable by Google library project and a “gold disc”, with the works digitized, may be created for Harvard to distribute as they see fit. Very secretive.

What is the role of those who work in libraries? Should it be different from the card catalog role of the past? Should libraries be copyright activists?

Palfrey: Libraries should continue to do what libraries did in the past and pair with new technologies. End of Lecture portion.

1:35
First, what would Grafton of the New Yorker say about the lecture? The digital revolution is helpful but the books will remain. He would says that it is a difference of degree or an addition to library - not a replacement. A lot of stress is placed on the physical nature of libraries. You can find things out be physically touching the books that you can’t find by digital means.

1:40
The annotations are on the physical pages. His view of the library experience is more of a museum experience. Do you go to a museum for different purposes than a library? Shopping v. Appreciating.
Libraries purposefully invest in the aesthetics of themselves. They make themselves nice study areas with high ceilings.
Information can be found in different ways. The quality of the paper for example may indicate that it is a credible book.

1:45
Museum v. Library reveals the difference between the lay person and the historian. Makes us think about who the users are. Scholars will still go to libraries but therefore what?

1:50
All students use the digital form of works when they are available. The Harvard Law Review is the only example we can think of that actually needs the physical copy.

1:55
The meta data about the design of the book, the fact that it is at the book store and not out of print, the quality of books, etc can only be found in the physical form.
There is a mystical nature about books: Books signal knowledge. There is a long history of books being sacred knowledge.

2:00
Distinction of forms. The WSJ is created in a series of digital files then it is out-puted in two ways, the newspaper and the digital form.

2:05
Browsing and bookshelves are different online than in the analog world. But it is still there say DW. For example, “people who like this also like…” is an example of a digital bookshelf.

Push-back on DW’s article. DW insists that the the staying power of libraries is being stressed by the author, but maybe not. Maybe the author just got carried away with his writing.

2:10
What about the comfort of a book? You can’t curl up with your laptop. People will continue to want the physical form of the book.

Imagine you are designing the library of the future. What would be the attributes?
-Does it need a building? Yes, with tables and chairs.
-Reporters? No. Unless you are on law review or the reporters are really old.
-Librarians. Yes. But what are their roles? Helping research. Navigators. Experts. Do they have to be physically there? Yes.
-Digital Rights and prints.
-Physical books.
-We don’t need law reviews or anything that is categorized on Hine or Westlaw
-AV center
-Computers, really big screens
-Printers, pay for printers
-May want to hold off for quite awhile to see what the next technology is.
-What about the History, Prestige?

2:30
Is copyright law a road block to great libraries? It seems like there should be some sort of first sale doctrine in the digital library. Licenses would probably take then place of copyright.

Remember the next two classes are switched. Marketing is tomorrow. Come in with one example of really good or really bad web marketing.

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