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Libraries have long played an essential role in containing, preserving, and sharing information. People throughout the world have, over thousands of years, produced and relied on a variety of forms of information, including creation stories, herd counts, business orders, tax rolls, and personal correspondence. These facts, philosophies, and communications were recorded because individuals in these societies saw some purpose in sharing such information with others in the present and, in some cases, preserving it for future generations. The explosion of information we have seen over the past five decades is merely the latest skirmish in a long-running battle: How can individuals and societies maintain their collections of facts, history, images, DATA, and fiction as the amount of these items increases so rapidly? Over thousands of years, libraries were adopted as a mechanism for accomplishing these purposes; were it not for libraries, we would have little or no knowledge of past generations or cultures.
At each step along the way, libraries would have failed in their efforts without INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) of various kinds. We tend to imagine technology as specifically involving computers and electronic devices, but technology encompasses both the products and the processes that people create. Handling information requires a diverse collection of practical tools and processes. Looking at technology in the library world, processes would include the methods for rebinding books, classifying the items in a collection, or creating descriptive metadata for digital items, and full-text periodical databases, mobile devices, and library shelving units are examples of products. Information technology as a whole, then, includes any items or methods for containing, transmitting, and storing information.
TRENDS IN LIBRARY TECHNOLOGIES
Two main goals have driven library staff to use technology: better serving the needs of the library’s community and streamlining the workflow of the staff.
The technologies that have impacted and continue to impact the library world fall into three main groups: (1) those created specifically for libraries and library work, (2) those created within the larger world and adapted for use in libraries, and (3) those created in the world and brought into libraries without much alteration.
The first group would encompass developments such as Melvil Dewey’s classification system, the card catalog, and the MACHINE-READABLE CATALOGING (MARC) RECORD. In the second group we find such examples as the shaping of computer inventory control systems to work as library management systems to host library catalogs and manage circulation and cataloging systems, the molding of online databases to include periodical citation information and full-text articles, and libraries’ own alterations of website design for internal purposes. We see many examples of the third group in staff use of standard technology, such as E-MAIL, telephones, copiers, bar-code readers, RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, and many computer applications.
TEN KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY
Many information technologies have been created over the years. The library itself is a technology developed to handle information storage and retrieval. This section discusses ten key developments in information technology that have affected libraries over the centuries, in roughly chronological order. Some of these technologies are still in full use today, whereas others have been replaced or had their roles reduced. They represent processes for retaining or organizing information as well as manufactured tools or other products. All technology is designed to meet a particular need, and while few needs ever disappear completely, humanity is always finding new ways to better address long-standing needs. It is important to remember the former roles of obsolete technologies as we look at today’s technologies and toward the technologies that may replace them in the future.
DEVELOPMENT 1 Writing and Paper
The development of written language and alphabets is the starting place for a discussion of information gathering. Writing’s roots can be seen in prehistoric cave paintings—an early pictographic method of communicating information by drawing symbols and pictures to represent concepts. Pictographs allow individuals to preserve information (at least in the short term) for their own use and also to share with others. If one writes on something that will last (the next key development in technology for libraries), the information can be passed on beyond the life of that individual and perhaps for many generations.
Compare writing to another method for passing information along through time: memorization. In many cultures, oral history worked because skilled individuals were able...
