Review Series 3 of 3

Article: Tomorrow'sLibrary: Discussion Paper

Author: Ministerial Advisory Council on Public Libraries

This article is a discussion paper put out by the Ministerial Advisory Council on Public Libraries as part of a review on the future of libraries. This article relates to part one of this review process, which will consider current and future usage of Victorian libraries as well as the use of emerging technologies. The article covers a variety of issues facing library services, however for the purposes of this review I will be focusing on the implementation of ICT programs, and the changing nature of library collections and usage. This review will also attempt to detail shortcomings in the article as well as providing suggested improvements for further studies on the topic.

The article claims that with increasing use of the internet as a source of information that loans of physical collections are down, but that the use of electronic collections is significantly increased. The article sites a public libraries audit stating that nearly half the collections across the state are more than 15 years old.  They cite the work being done by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to develop new standards for library collections and resources, they recommend a collection target of 2.5 per capita, the current collection level sits at 1.82 items per capita. The article is also interested in the way that evolving technologies such as e-books and readers will impact collection choices now and in the future. One of the most heavily utilised areas of many public libraries these days are the public access PC’s, according to the 2007 public library building audit quoted in the article “Approximately three-quarters of libraries provide a computer lab/internet area” (MACPL 2012, p.8). In addition to providing internet enabled computers for public use, there is also an increasing need for wireless services which patrons can access using their own devices. There is a strong belief that as technological advances become more ubiquitous in daily life, that there will be more demand on library services from those that can’t or don’t have access at home. The article also puts forward the issue of increasing use of smart phones and tablets, and that this will lead to expectations on the part of library patrons of being able to interact with the library service through custom ‘app’s’.

The main shortcoming of this article is the inconsistent approach to statistics. Using statistics relatively recent statistics for some assertions, and much older ones for others, as well as not providing any statistical references for other statements, gives an overall impression of untrustworthiness to the article as a whole. It may be that there were no recent statistics available; however the implication for the reader is that available data may have been massaged to fit the desired outcome. The article is a discussion paper, rather than a finished piece of research so the obvious improvements would be the commit to an extensive consultation process with both library users and library staff across the state. Clearly the issues arising in an inner city library service, will be quite different from those arising in a rural setting, and the paper could address this in a more detailed and in-depth way, rather than making sweeping recommendations for ‘library services in Victoria’.

The article is a discussion, rather than a fully formed policy document. It ia designed to prompt further comments that will be fed back into the inquiry. The authors see technology as central to the future of libraries.

Article Reference

Ministerial Advisory Council on Public Libraries (2012) Tomorrow's Library: Discussion Paper. State Government of Victoria. Available at http://www.plvn.net.au/sites/default/files/TLTD002_Tomorrow's Library Discussion Paper final web.pdf

Review Series 2 of 3

Article: Understanding the role oftechnology in health information systems

Authors: Don Lewis, Nicola Hodge, Duminda Gamage, &Maxine Whittaker

This article is concerned with the uptake of information communication technology in health care, specifically in the Pacific region. The article seeks to address the number of failed ICT projects in the health sector with by focusing on four main areas, however due to space constraints this review will primarily focus on the two factors that have wider relevance to ICT developments in industries other than health. Understanding the market you are designing an ICT solution for, in this case small pacific nations; and the critical factors in success or failure of ICT implementation. This review will also attempt to detail shortcomings in the article as well as providing suggested improvements for further studies on the topic.

One if the issues highlighted in the article is the need to have a strong understanding of the market you are trying to introduce ICT’s into. The context of the Pacific island countries and territories is one of dispersed and small populations, with the exception of Papua New Guinea, small remote island nations and territories, separated by vast ocean distances. While these factors would indicate that ICT’s have the potential to be instrumental to social and economic development, they also represent great challenges in its implementation and upkeep. Additionally the vast variation in population between Papua New Guinea on 6,000,000 and Tokelau at below 2000, indicates vastly different needs in terms of the complexity and sophistication of ideal ICT solution for their health care system (Lewis et al 2011 p5). The article also looks at some of the common factors that can influence the success or failure of a health ICT project, including but not limited to lack of senior management support; lack of engagement of clinicians and other end users; inadequate specification of requirements, and insufficient time and resources allocated to organisational and process change. It also looks at issues that are specific to projects in the developing world, “Poorly planned interventionist behaviour that ignores user needs, fails to understand host capacities, demands action, neglects cultural constraints and ignores the local knowledge base will only result in failure for health technologies” (Rodrigues et al qtd in Lewis et al 2011 p.13).

I felt the issues raised in the article were well considered and addressed thoroughly. Having been through several changes of information management systems, in a range of organisations, my only recommendation for further research would be that this kind of consultation process was part of the implementation of ICT projects in industries other than health care.

This article represents a clear evaluation of the issues involved in the implementation of ICT health –care solutions specific to the Pacific island countries and territories. It considers carefully the potential causes for failure of the project, and offers clear paths for success. Technology has an undeniable place in the future of medical care.

Article Reference

Lewis, D., Hodge, N., Gamage, D & Whittaker, M. (2011) Understanding the role of technology in health information systems. Available from the University of Queensland Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub at http://www.uq.edu.au/hishub/wp17

Review Series 1 of 3

Article: Organizational adoption of Web 2.0 technologies: An empirical analysis

Authors: Terence Saldanha & MS Krishnan

This article is a detailed analysis on the uptake of Web 2.0 technologies by organisations, it engages with benefits and negatives of these new technologies in the commercial sphere as well as the factors that influence whether or not an organisation will incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into their business. The article contains a detailed literature review as well as an extensive discussion of the framework they used to examine organisational adoption of Web 2.0 technologies.  In this review we will discuss the major issues highlighted by the article in particular the pros and cons of these technologies, as well as the reasons why companies may be more or less reluctant to adopt them in their organisation. This review will also attempt to detail shortcomings in the article as well as providing suggested improvements for further studies on the topic.

One of the benefits of Web 2.0 suggested by the article is the way that it can encourage a more collaborative work style, encouraging workers to share knowledge and information across the organisation. The article also suggests the potential for Web 2.0 technologies to improve employee engagement.  One of the concerns raised about Web 2.0 technologies in the article is the potential for an overload of unstructured information and that the benefits to businesses can be somewhat unclear. There is also a perception that Web 2.0 will lead to increased security risks within the organisation. The article uses the Technology-Organisation-Environment or TOE framework to evaluate the factors influencing whether a corporation is likely to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into their organisation.

This framework allowed the writers to establish the following hypothesis around the prevalence in uptake of Web 2.0: Importance to Open Standards; Organisation size; Industry knowledge intensity; and Industry competitive intensity. Open standards in organisations allow a more seamless integration of Web 2.0 technology. “The Ability to leverage Web 2.0 technologies requires openness in the social and technological architectures of the firm” (Prahalad & Krishnan qtd in Saldanda & Krishnan 2012 p.309). The article argues that although smaller firms may find it easier to initiate Web 2.0 technologies as they have less bureaucracy to work through, there are greater benefits to a larger organisation because of the largely social nature of Web 2.0 technology, the greater number of users the stronger the net benefit. Larger organisations also have more to lose by not sharing information the Information Silo Effect which can lead to duplication of effort as information is not shared. Organisations that have greater levels of industry knowledge intensity will have more use for Web 2.0 as these organisations are generally more predicated on IT innovation and information sharing. The competiveness of the industry an organisation is part of can the uptake of Web 2.0 technologies as management seeking a competitive edge are more likely to look to alternative technologies.

The main shortcoming of this article is the data it is based on. The survey was completed in 2007, some five years before the paper was published in 2012. In most areas of research a five year difference between the data collection date and a report being written would be considered a long time, time in information technology terms is more like “dog years” with five years representing an epic gulf between the data collected and the conclusions being drawn from it. An example of the seismic shift which took place in social media in this time one only needs to look at Facebook uptake between 2007 and 2012. 

  

In 2007 there were 58 million monthly users, and by 2012 that figure had increased to 1,056 million monthly users (Sedgi 2014). Another concern is that in addition to being quite old, the data which forms the basis of the article is also incomplete. The original data is from an opt-in survey completed by Information Week the writers of the paper are not aware of the response rate of the survey, but are assuming an averaged rate of response based on the average response to surveys from Information Week. To improve future studies it might be helpful to directly partner with Information Week, this would allow the researchers to have access to the full data set, as well as being able to expand the survey to encompass more current areas of Web 2.0 technology.

While I have no reason to suspect that the conclusions of the article are not perfectly valid based on the data used, my concern is that questions around uptake of Web 2.0 had moved on significantly in the five years between the survey being taken, and this report. Information technology is a fast moving field and while this study is an excellent snapshot of Web 2.0 usage in organisations, it is also a historical document to a certain extent.

Article Reference

Saldanha, T.J.V & Krishnan, M.S. (2012). Organizational adoption of Web 2.0 technologies: An empirical analysis, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 22 (4), 301-333. (available via Taylor & Francis Online, CSU Library)