Environmental Scan 1995-96

By The LIRT Long Range Planning Committee
Rebecca Jackson, Chair

Environmental scanning is a process that identifies trends in the external environment that might provide opportunities for devising new strategies or threaten an organization's ability to implement its chosen goals. Environmental scanning allows planning to become a dynamic process that adjusts to changes in society as they occur. The process of scanning involves gathering data, identifying trends and analyzing them to assess the degree of impact each trend might have on the organizations.

At the 1994 Midwinter ALA Conference, it was decided that LIRT's Long Range Planning Committee would undertake a simple environmental scan on a yearly basis to assist LIRT officers and committee chairs in planning for the future of LIRT. The following is a revision of the first environmental scan to reflect issues the Long Range Planning Committee has determined are likely to affect library instruction and LIRT in the foreseeable future.

Issues:

  1. Technology is undoubtedly a major environmental issue. There are many aspects of technology that will have an impact on libraries and user education in the future. Some of the most important include:

    1. How can libraries and librarians act as a mediators for access for those who cannot afford access directly?

    2. Will people know to turn to librarians for teaching them about technology? Will this have an impact on the image of librarians?

    3. There will be a decreasing need for people to come into the library. Can libraries and librarians make the value of their services known through the Internet?

    4. What significance does technology have on critical thinking and information literacy?

    5. How can librarians be more involved in the standardization of front ends and gateway systems that will allow for seamless interfaces for our users?

    6. The constant changes that are the result of technology create an inordinate amount of stress, both for librarians and for their users. How is user education related to reducing such stress?

    7. With more and more databases available through computer facilities and on on-line catalogs, will there be an eventual merging of reference and computer facilities? How will funding of the library be affected? What does this mean for our users?

    8. Most materials available through the Internet or through database searches are relatively recent. How can library instruction librarians keep users aware of the need to refer to older sources that may only be found in print?

  2. Cultural diversity has been an issue for quite a few years and promises to increase in importance in the future. How can libraries best serve a culturally diverse user population? What special programs and services are needed to help educate users from different backgrounds, languages, countries, and age groups?

  3. More and more libraries are beginning programs of continuous improvement with an emphasis on quality customer service. How will this affect instruction in the use of libraries? Is instruction what our users really want?

  4. We are becoming increasingly global in our business and political dealings. Libraries are being asked to provide more access to international sources and services. Technology has made it possible for us to communicate easily with people all over the world. What does this trend mean to librarians involved in user education?

  5. Non-mediated document retrieval is becoming more widespread, again due to advances in technology. This means that users will be able to request materials instantaneously with any search they undertake. How can librarians ensure that users are getting the best information for their needs or that they are not wasting money on resources that could be substituted for other useful resources in their own libraries?

  6. More and more students and other library users are taking advantage of telecommunications technology to pursue their education at a distance from their institutions. How can libraries be sure they are serving the needs of the distance learner? What does this mean for user education in libraries local to the distance learner?

  7. The role of the paraprofessional is changing drastically in many libraries. Information desks are staffed with paraprofessionals often answering questions that could have only been answered by librarians in the past. Due to budget constraints it has become almost impossible to staff a reference desk on a constant basis. How can librarians work with these staff to ensure the best service for our users? Are there instructional roles that paraprofessionals can fill? What kinds of training do they need?

  8. Librarians, including instruction librarians, need time to carry out research and development. We need to be able to conduct research on learning styles and teaching techniques. We need to be able to develop computer applications that will be useful in instructing patrons. However, it seems that such time is impossible to come by in our busy libraries. How can librarians get the time they need to further their education and to contribute to the profession?

  9. There are an increasing number of functional illiterates in the general population. How can instructional librarians work to help these users so that libraries will become a more important part of their lives?

    LIRT News, September 1995. Volume 18, number 1.
    To report problems, please contact the LIRT News Production editor at edwards@ufl.edu

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