From CD to the Internet
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CD-ROM technology revolutionized libraries in the late 20th century by allowing users to access information from computers rather than visiting the physical library. This reduced the gatekeeping role of librarians and democratized access to knowledge. While CD-ROMs were initially expensive, their costs declined and they provided a convenient centralized source of information. However, the rise of the Internet in the 1990s increased access speeds and made information even more available anytime, anywhere, reducing the need for CD-ROMs as an information delivery method.
From CD to the Internet
- 1. From CD to the Internet Phil Bradley Internet Consultant http://www.philb.com
- 2. Once upon a time
- 3. In a library far, far away… Books chained to a shelf. ( National Geographic , August 1999 edition, p.118.)
- 4. Books were A valuable resource They could be used to control knowledge To limit access Artefacts in and of themselves Librarians Were gatekeepers to knowledge Arranged and organized information A help and a hindrance
- 6. The Rise of CD-ROM It was not due to the cost £500+ for a single drive running at single speed £10,000 for a CD-ROM jukebox It was not due to installation The installation card The cabling The software
- 7. Software problems Incompatibilities Assistance “ It’s not my job” Management objections “ It’s new. It’s expensive. It might not work. It might work!” Publishers objections Danger to print products
- 8. Different library practices Users needed access to computers They wanted to print things Things would go wrong Different demands were being made Librarians had to learn the basics of technology Opening up computers Installing software Troubleshooting
- 9. Even more problems CD-ROM products were expensive Really, really expensive Selection criteria? ‘ Knock on’ effect Increase in interlibrary loans Re-organizing online searches Library layout and design
- 10. And yet….
- 12. Reasons for growth Standard format (High Sierra, ISO 9660) Robust Cost per (disc) unit cheap, easy to replace Convenient Increasingly wide variety of titles Easier to use than online Prices continually fell
- 13. “ Everything in one place”
- 14. It made life easier Greater control Better financial planning Ease of use Data became separated from delivery mechanism End users could access data themselves End of the gatekeeper, entrance of the facilitator
- 15. And… Excitement! “ CD-ROM has been the most exciting thing to happen in libraries for years, bringing the power of interactive searching to users and library staff in general, not just a privileged few professionals” Joan Day. ‘Training end-users of CD-ROM’ in CD-ROM in libraries: Management issues. Bowker Saur 1994
- 16. The beginning of the end … of chained knowledge Everything in the one place, which was the entire library – any computer, any where, any time – the ‘Bacardi of the library’ Process hastened by networking CD-ROM drives
- 17. Networking Early installations ‘ Multiplatter’ in Charing X Hospital library Polytechnic of Central London Access to information from the desktop No longer necessary to visit the library The possibility of outreach Training end users more important than ever
- 18. Changing roles Facilitator even more important Choosing databases Making them work Training on finding data Outreach! Change in use of the data In an electronic format it could be manipulated and repackaged
- 19. More change Library availability 24/7 Dial-in access Creation of personal databases EndNote Reference Manager End user becomes the publisher
- 20. Changing costs ‘ Free’ actually made money Decreasing cost of storage space Decreasing cost of CD-ROM drives Publishers seeing old paradigms changing Role of copyright Production of data onto CD-ROM locally
- 22. And then… Time for a new challenge Availability of storage space CD-ROM networks change the delivery mechanism CD-ROM becomes the method of data delivery Information becomes even more available
- 23. AND THEN…..
- 25. The Internet Promised more Slower speed initially Desktop access Knowledge available to everyone Online vendors provide access via the interwebthingie and not by CD-ROM Increased access time makes CD-ROM redundant
- 26. Not forgetting DVD Memory Sticks PDAs Mp3 and video players
- 27. And moving into… Use of RFID Personalized search engines Mobile access to material Increasing importance of the mobile access device Which you won’t want to lose, so may wish to…
- 28. Chain it up.
- 29. Thank you! Phil Bradley, Internet Consultant Website: http://www.philb.com Weblog: http://www.philbradley.typepad.com
- 30. Attributions The Time Internet slide from http://www.jmusheneaux.com/03b.htm Shark fin image from http://www.marine.usf.edu/images/sharkfin.jpg Insurance photograph from http://www.pictureit.co.uk/