Denton Public Library Technology Assessment Interview. Sara Davis INFO Brittany Barrett. University of North Texas.

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1 Denton Public Library Technology Assessment Interview Sara Davis INFO Brittany Barrett University of North Texas February 26,

2 Part 1 Denton Public Library Background Information The Denton Public Library started as a small 3,000 volume library on the third floor of the Denton County Courthouse in the early 1930 s. Through grants and allowances, the library supervisor was able to collect over 4,000 books, $600 dollars to purchase new books, and shelves, equipment, and utilities for a new library. By 1937, Denton s first public library opened. As demand, support, and the library collection grew, so did the library. Today, the Denton Public Library houses more than 270,000 items and consists of three branches within the City of Denton: The Emily Fowler Central Library, the North Branch Library, and the South Branch Library. The Denton Public Library s primary users are the City of Denton residents, and its secondary users are out of city residents; residents within the surrounding communities or traveling through. (City of Denton, 2016). The total population of Denton is 133,830 (United States Census Bureau, 2016). The websites for the Denton Public Library ( and ) are intended to serve both the primary and secondary users of the Denton Public Library. The Denton Public Library s mission statement is as follows The Denton Public Library builds community by promoting lifelong learning, encouraging human connections, and sharing resources. Part 2 Interview with Trey Ford, Technology Librarian Trey Ford, Technology Librarian at the Denton Public Library North Branch (3020 N Locust St, Denton, TX 76209), was interviewed by Sara Davis through on February 25, The following are the results of the interview. 2

3 I: What forms of technology does the Denton Public Library (DPL) use at the present time? T: In addition to our ILS and lots of computers, we also have many other forms of technology that we use. Let me break it down a bit: Circulation: RFID pads RFID checkin chutes Self checks RFID gates Online: Website Online catalog Electronic material services (hoopla, Overdrive, Zinio) Software: Sierra ILS 3

4 Adobe Creative Cloud Educational: Arduinos Makey Makeys Snap Circuits and littlebits Other: ipads Microfilm readers/scanners Book scanner Flat bed scanners Webcams 3D printer So, overall, technology touches just about everything both staff and the public do. I: What technology trends do you see for the future that will positively affect DPL and in turn negatively affect DPL? 4

5 T: On the positive side there is more and more technology coming out that makes sharing information easier. So, it s becoming much easier to share parts of the collection that weren t easily accessible before, especially things in special collections. So I see us being able to share a lot more material with the public in the near future (after we put in a lot of work digitizing it of course). Also, online experiences are getting nicer and less clunky. So that should positively impact the types of web services we can provide and their usability. As time goes on more people seem interested in streaming/online access to materials such as movies, e books, etc. Traditionally that has been considered to be the beginning of the end for libraries, but that s not how it s shaping up. As people start to make that transition, sure enough some of our physical collection is getting less use, but our online collections are getting more use. I have hopes that as publisher come around on providing access to materials in an electronic format (which is actually finally happening), it will make it even easier for us to provide those materials. The e book in particular has been seen as a library ender. However, it looks like for the most part everyone who wanted to go the e book route has done so already, with e book sale growth rates now close to print book sale growth. Interestingly enough, even as we ve been seeing a growth in our e book checkouts, our print book checkouts are going strong. In fact, of materials checked out, the percentage of print books checking out has been increasing and remains our most checked out format (upwards of 60% of our checkouts are print books, whereas all of our electronic material checkouts are less than 10%). 5

6 I honestly don t think there is anything on the horizon that will have a negative impact on libraries. Only things that will improve our ability to share information and do our jobs. I: How has technology improved the quality of DPL or has it? T: I d say that technology has definitely improved the quality of the library, at the very least in ease of access. From the staff side, the software and technologies we use make many tasks easier and faster than they were previously. They especially make finding information for patrons much easier (in many cases at least). Our online tools make it easier for patrons to find things and administer their account. New technologies give them access to electronic formats from home. Self checks allow them to check items out themselves if they re so inclined, which decreases wait times at the circulation desk and demands on circ staff. Our check in chutes also instantly check in items, which again somewhat decreases demands on circ staff and allows patrons to immediately check out more items even if there is a limit on the number of items of a specific type that they can check out. (We had a checkout limit of 10 DVDs previously before we had the chutes, so if you wanted to check out more DVDs and already had at or near the max you had to stand in line at the circ desk and wait for them to check your old items in so you could then check new items out). I: How does the DPL use technology to reach patrons that would otherwise not visit the library? T: One way is that we provide them with ways to use the library without physically visiting it. We provide access to electronic materials such as e books, movies, music, magazines, and audiobooks via Hoopla, Overdrive, and Zinio. Also, we provide access to a number of databases 6

7 and online learning tools via our website, most of which can be accessed at home. Finally, we provide a homebound service that allows homebound patrons to select materials via our catalog and have them sent to them. In addition, we have been reaching people who would not have come in otherwise via our technology programming. We ve had many people come in specifically to learn about 3D printing, programming, and electronics that have said that they had never been in this library before. Finally, our social media presence makes us more visible to the community. We ve also joined up with a local tech meetup group to make people aware of some of our more tech and business oriented programming. I: How does the DPL stay at forefront of technology advancements? T: The main ways to stay up on what s going on is to just read plenty of things online from various blogs and the like, read relevant magazines, talk with vendors, attend conferences, and also just hear about what other libraries are doing. Basically, you get information from anywhere and everyone that you can to learn more about what s going on. The trick is then deciding which of the new technologies to act on since it may involve a whole process of having to do reviews and budget requests to make it happen. You want to find a sweet spot between just going after every new technology and waiting until it s old news. You want to be an innovator, but not place your bets on something that ends up being awful, obsolete after a year, or that is just kind of a technological dead end. 7

8 I: What would you like to see added to DPL's technological resources? T: There are several things I d like added right now. More devices that allow people to digitize their own media (film, slides, photos, etc.) in an easier way than just using flatbed scanners. Also, more digital signage to allow people to see what s going on in our various meeting and program rooms throughout the day. Finally, tools to help staff more easily document things about their programs and stats (which I m currently working on). I: How does the DPL keep its employees educated in new technology as it becomes available? T: If it s something major that s complicated at all we ll have a training. However, if it s fairly straightforward we usually will do a demo and send out an e mail about how to use it. As far as just keeping up to date on what current technologies that we might want to look into, it s mostly through discussions between staff members. We also have a technology committee that specifically looks into such things to decide whether to pursue certain technologies. I: As the DPL is beginning more community based interactions with patrons, how has the technology had to change to better serve the community? Is there any technology that the DPL needs to look into for ventures such as DPL2go? T: Honestly, most of our technology is very community centric to begin with. The main thing we re needing to work on currently is providing things with better interfaces, especially our website and our catalog. As for DPL2go, we have acquired some mobile hotspots so that we can sign people up for library cards and demonstrate our online resources wherever we are. We also acquired some 8

9 educational tablets for kids to interact with. But overall we haven t heard much of a demand for more technology with that type of programming. What we have come across is that we need solutions to low tech problems with our technology. For instance, trying to show something to a crowd on a laptop on a sunny day is very difficult, so we re looking at sun shades for use with the laptops. Part 3 Personal Reflection Speaking with Trey Ford was very enlightening. I have worked at the Denton Public Library for the past five years, but my focus within the system has been primarily circulation and youth services. Although I did know many of the things that Trey went over, many were new to me, or at least gave me a new perspective. I also enjoyed Trey s answer to question 2 about positive and negative effects of technology. I couldn t help but agree with him that the library only stands to gain from new and improved technology. Many people think that electronic resources are the end of libraries, but as he showed, electronic resources have only served to bring more and more people into the library. We get these new technologies through grants and by researching, just like the founder of DPL, and just like her, we are continuing to do everything we can to be the center for technology and information access in our community. I have always believed that libraries are at the frontier of technological resources, and Trey helped reinforce this belief with his commentary on the technology that we currently use and its effects on the future of our library. Libraries are hubs for communities and strive to provide equal access to information and resources. To fulfill this duty, libraries must offer the best and 9

10 greatest technologies to better help their patrons, and I enjoyed learning Trey s process in deciding which technologies will be best for developing our Library as a community center. Part 4 Reference List City of Denton. (2016). Retrieved February 25, Denton Public Library. (2015) Annual Report of the Denton Public Library. Denton, TX: Author. T. Ford, personal communication, February 25, United States Census Bureau. (2015, August 5). Retrieved February 26,

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