Staying on Top of Technology Trends

These days, libraries are all about change — especially technology changes. Are you successfully navigating the rapids of technology trends or struggling in white water?

During this course you will see how technology trends affect libraries in general and your library specifically. You’ll look at innovation cycles in consumer technology and how they influence your library and your community. As you learn how to move from trend to task, you’ll be able to envision how trends can be implemented in a library setting, as well as how to improve on existing technology.

With the instructor and your colleagues, you will explore:

• Whether technologies are emerging or submerging
• Plans to incorporate a new technology
• Process reviews to improve existing technology
• Five key technology trends affecting libraries right now
• How to follow and filter trend watchers and trend setters— inside and outside the library world

As a result, you’ll be able to build your own personal strategies for staying on top of technology trends and feel better prepared for technology changes now and in the future.

This popular course has been updated. Those who took the previous course commented that it "got me thinking in a new direction...helping me be open to new technology, keep up with it, and consider how it can relate to our library and its users. Invaluable!"

Course Description: During this online course you will learn how rapid technology change affects libraries and about five key technology trends that are currently affecting libraries. You will be able to identify tools and techniques for dealing with the potential overload of technology changes. Depending on your level of work responsibility, you’ll have opportunities to develop a plan to incorporate a new technology or a process review of an existing technology.

Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics:

• Week 1: Why Stay on Top of Technology Trends?
  • Examples of rapid technology changes
  • The emerging web: social and cloud-based technology
  • Different types of innovation cycles
  • How consumer behavior is driving and shaping innovation
  • How technology changes affect your current work and future opportunities
• Week 2: Trend Watching: Who and How to Follow
  • What makes someone a trend watcher or trend setter?
  • Trend setters and trend watchers in the library technology industry
  • Non-library trend setters and trend watchers
  • Some tools and techniques to follow trend watchers
• Week 3: Practical Ways to Incorporate New Trends
  • Ways to discover what and how technology trends are impacting your community
  • Planning to incorporate new technology
  • Start small—pilot projects and limited resources
  • What you can learn from the experiences of other libraries
  • How to do a technology process review
  • Speeding up or slowing down as needed
  • Potential for overload and how to filter your information sources
• Week 4: Current Technology Trends: How to Prepare and When Not to Pursue
  • Five key technology trends affecting libraries
  • What to do to feel better prepared for rapid technology change
  • How to know if something is a trend or a fad
  • Signs of emerging or submerging technologies
  • When to not pursue an upgrade

Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2½ hours per week, for a total of ten course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for assignments and discussions. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Library staff who want a greater understanding of coming technology changes and how to deal with emerging technology trends.

Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at: infopeople.org/training/online_learning_details.

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.

Keywords: Technology, Trendwatching