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Deciphering the character of order
”
VISIONS edited by Don 1. Bosseau & Susan K. Martin
Deciphering
the Character
of Order
by Don L. Bosseau
L
ibraries are not the only organizations facing the consequences of the new information technologies. We are aware of the old adages about what happens when a profession fails to keep up with the times-in which case, like old soldiers, it will just fade away; or the analogies to, for example, the Western Union Telegram, which was losing out to fax and e-mail when, instead of trying to design a better telegram, they should have been aggressively pursuing innovative applications of the new technologies. On the other hand, most of us remember the predictions that television would force the demise of the movie industry. That was to happen after television had wiped out the demand for radio stations. Those virtual realities never attained actual reality. At last look, movie theaters were thriving, and the movie industry has found even more outlets for its products. Pronouncements do not make history. Politicians, when leaving their collections to libraries frequently place an inordinate amount of importance on their compilation of press releasesmuch to the consternation of archivists. If enunciations were analyzed for their relevance to the realities that subsequently materialized, the batting average would be substantially less than the enunciators would leave us to believe. When, in an article in the January 30, 1995 issue of Newsweek, it was noted that the new California State University campus at Monterrey would open without a library, many readers probably accepted that assertion at face value. The popular media promulgates these stories, predicting the downfall of libraries in tandem with the disappearance of books. The following illustrations may serve to provide a context within which the outlook for libraries and librarians may he viewed with a perspective that departs from the “rush to judgement” treadmill that we have been encountering. In the 1960s television was rapidly replacing the radio as the center of attention when families gathered around for their favorite shows. The prognostications that radio was facing an uncertain future at best, and a status of declining importance, seemed compelling. With such proclamations gaining acceptance, the discussion moved on to the declining fortunes of the movie industry. Citing many of the same reasons, movie theatres would soon face the same inevitable consequences stemming from their inherent disadvantage of being unable to compete with the convenience of enjoying television in the comfort of one’s home. Don L. Bosseau is University Librarian, San Diego State University, Campanile, San Diego, California 92182-8050.
5500
The news for the movie industry would only get worse. There was more competition just a technology away. With the VCR came the video libraries where movies could be rented, again to be enjoyed in the privacy of homes. Now, movie producers would be salvaged, but the portents for theaters were not good. Another delivery system for getting movies into the home had manifested its presence. Enter cable-TV. The proliferation of cable-TV companies around the nation caused concerns within the video rental industry. A cable-TV company could deliver dozens of channels with an endless variety of programs, including movies. Another technology was threatening a previously quite happy industry. But that represented only another wrinkle in what was destined to become part of the changing panorama that was becoming known as the information age. The digital recorded music technology known as the compact disc (CD) was viewed as the answer to long lasting, accurate sound reproduction. However, a close relative, DAT (digital audiotape), threatened the music industry with the same prognoses given the movie industry only a decade or so before. Unlike analog recordings which suffer degradation in signal to noise ratios with successive generations of copying, digital technology provided a solution to that problem, and with it, new concerns for the music industry. In this case, some legal maneuvering and a sluggish acceptance by the public has laid this latest threat to rest, at least for the time being. In the past few years, “cable radio” hit the wirewaves, with CD quality sound digitally transmitted via cable to D/A (digital to analog) converters which feed into conventional stereo systems. By the end of 1994, over one-quarter million listeners were subscribed to cable radio, and in response, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was already in the process of lobbying Congress over copyright and related issues impacted by this new service. One should also note the kind of impact that occurs when the owners of turf and technology join forces through mergers and/ or takeovers. There was much concern voiced by other players when Bell-Atlantic and T.C.I. (Tele-Communications, Inc.) appeared to be merging. The new entity was forecasting high-tech offerings of 500 channels with interactive television, movies and libraries-all to be summoned “...at the touch of a button....” The deal collapsed when a closer look at financial markets and the newly legislated tighter government controls on cable-tv rates reduced the profit projections. Certainly the large video-rental franchisers were looking at a competing distribution system that could quickly and easily bypass the one they thrived on, one which requires a commute to the local video rental store.
July 1995
301
When the nation’s third largest cable television company, Continental Cablevision, Inc., announced plans to provide interactive data service linking its subscribers to the Internet, the announcement read as if the service would be available tomorrow. That was two years ago, but, if you reacted by dropping your subscription to AOL, or shifting your stock options around, you may have overreacted. On a similar front, when a federal judge ruled that the so-called Baby Bells could offer cable systems in the same areas where they provide telephone services, the cable-TV industry did a few cartwheels. The list of vulnerable pecking order changes is overwhelming, but will continue to grow as new hardware/software penetrates the information technology market. The CoAccess Network, a new product announced by Scientific-Atlanta in the November 15, 1993 Wall Street Journal, allows customers to make telephone calls over their cable-TV systems. The device also accommodates interactive games, and allows people to order as well as receive pay-per-view movies. The implications for telephone companies are self-evident. It seems that almost every time one looks at a newspaper or journal, there is a story about one technology stepping on the toes of another. The fact that these technologies are tied to specific industries, professions, etc., does not solicit any analyses which suggest there are options and other variables and parameters that should be factored into the equation. A society constantly reeling from the barrage of soundbites should know better than to display knee jerk reactions to every proclamation. If every potentially impacted organization were to react to the forecasts associated with each technological development or new product, chaos theory would be illustrated daily in terms everyone could understand. In fact, the proverbial paradigm shift would approximate an avalanche of diverging systems and protocols offering hope but not filling needs. Inertia and the status quo are not referenced here as appropriate responses to new competition, but perspectives have to be maintained in the light of reason and the framework of the larger picture. For compa-
302
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
nies, industries, and libraries, market share has some meaning, but it may best be protected in the context of rational and evolutionary analyses and actions, and not in revolutionary, step-function approaches. Libraries, led by librarians, are following the former strategy, and through it they are shaping new and credible audiences for their services, as well as holding onto traditional devotees. The proclamations about paperless offices and paperless libraries have been heard, and will continue to be made, and they may someday come to fruition. But, in the meantime, libraries have missions to fill- conducting the business of serving up information needed by our end users. Devoting full-time budgets solely to the promise of technology was logical in the early days of the space program. In that case, however, there were no yesterdays. As managers responsible for bringing deliverables in the form of quality controlled information sources to faculty and students, it is incumbent upon libraries to optimize services on the basis of what works best for the end users. To supply only that which is in a particular format is a mistake-at least as long as it takes many formats to meet the comprehensive needs of our users. The profession is moving responsibly in new directions which capitalize on the antecedent strengths of librarians while also embracing the new skills required to expand horizons. In short, the profession has not allowed itself to follow in the footsteps of the railroad industry. The railroad industry thought of itself as being in the railroad business, when, with a broader vision, it could have evolved differently through a realization that it was in the transportation business. Libraries have not settled on a mind set which focuses only on delivering books. But in moving progressively beyond our old boundaries we also have chosen, wisely, to be aware of the admonition of Paul Saffo, the futurist, who warns “...to not mistake a clear view for a short distance.”
VISIONS edited by Don 1. Bosseau & Susan K. Martin
Deciphering
the Character
of Order
by Don L. Bosseau
L
ibraries are not the only organizations facing the consequences of the new information technologies. We are aware of the old adages about what happens when a profession fails to keep up with the times-in which case, like old soldiers, it will just fade away; or the analogies to, for example, the Western Union Telegram, which was losing out to fax and e-mail when, instead of trying to design a better telegram, they should have been aggressively pursuing innovative applications of the new technologies. On the other hand, most of us remember the predictions that television would force the demise of the movie industry. That was to happen after television had wiped out the demand for radio stations. Those virtual realities never attained actual reality. At last look, movie theaters were thriving, and the movie industry has found even more outlets for its products. Pronouncements do not make history. Politicians, when leaving their collections to libraries frequently place an inordinate amount of importance on their compilation of press releasesmuch to the consternation of archivists. If enunciations were analyzed for their relevance to the realities that subsequently materialized, the batting average would be substantially less than the enunciators would leave us to believe. When, in an article in the January 30, 1995 issue of Newsweek, it was noted that the new California State University campus at Monterrey would open without a library, many readers probably accepted that assertion at face value. The popular media promulgates these stories, predicting the downfall of libraries in tandem with the disappearance of books. The following illustrations may serve to provide a context within which the outlook for libraries and librarians may he viewed with a perspective that departs from the “rush to judgement” treadmill that we have been encountering. In the 1960s television was rapidly replacing the radio as the center of attention when families gathered around for their favorite shows. The prognostications that radio was facing an uncertain future at best, and a status of declining importance, seemed compelling. With such proclamations gaining acceptance, the discussion moved on to the declining fortunes of the movie industry. Citing many of the same reasons, movie theatres would soon face the same inevitable consequences stemming from their inherent disadvantage of being unable to compete with the convenience of enjoying television in the comfort of one’s home. Don L. Bosseau is University Librarian, San Diego State University, Campanile, San Diego, California 92182-8050
5500
The news for the movie industry would only get worse. There was more competition just a technology away. With the VCR came the video libraries where movies could be rented, again to be enjoyed in the privacy of homes. Now, movie producers would be salvaged, but the portents for theaters were not good. Another delivery system for getting movies into the home had manifested its presence. Enter cable-TV. The proliferation of cable-TV companies around the nation caused concerns within the video rental industry. A cable-TV company could deliver dozens of channels with an endless variety of programs, including movies. Another technology was threatening a previously quite happy industry. But that represented only another wrinkle in what was destined to become part of the changing panorama that was becoming known as the information age. The digital recorded music technology known as the compact disc (CD) was viewed as the answer to long lasting, accurate sound reproduction. However, a close relative, DAT (digital audiotape), threatened the music industry with the same prognoses given the movie industry only a decade or so before. Unlike analog recordings which suffer degradation in signal to noise ratios with successive generations of copying, digital technology provided a solution to that problem, and with it, new concerns for the music industry. In this case, some legal maneuvering and a sluggish acceptance by the public has laid this latest threat to rest, at least for the time being. In the past few years, “cable radio” hit the wirewaves, with CD quality sound digitally transmitted via cable to D/A (digital to analog) converters which feed into conventional stereo systems. By the end of 1994, over one-quarter million listeners were subscribed to cable radio, and in response, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was already in the process of lobbying Congress over copyright and related issues impacted by this new service. One should also note the kind of impact that occurs when the owners of turf and technology join forces through mergers and/ or takeovers. There was much concern voiced by other players when Bell-Atlantic and T.C.I. (Tele-Communications, Inc.) appeared to be merging. The new entity was forecasting high-tech offerings of 500 channels with interactive television, movies and libraries-all to be summoned “...at the touch of a button....” The deal collapsed when a closer look at financial markets and the newly legislated tighter government controls on cable-tv rates reduced the profit projections. Certainly the large video-rental franchisers were looking at a competing distribution system that could quickly and easily bypass the one they thrived on, one which requires a commute to the local video rental store.
July 1995
301
When the nation’s third largest cable television company, Continental Cablevision, Inc., announced plans to provide interactive data service linking its subscribers to the Internet, the announcement read as if the service would be available tomorrow. That was two years ago, but, if you reacted by dropping your subscription to AOL, or shifting your stock options around, you may have overreacted. On a similar front, when a federal judge ruled that the so-called Baby Bells could offer cable systems in the same areas where they provide telephone services, the cable-TV industry did a few cartwheels. The list of vulnerable pecking order changes is overwhelming, but will continue to grow as new hardware/software penetrates the information technology market. The CoAccess Network, a new product announced by Scientific-Atlanta in the November 15, 1993 Wall Street Journal, allows customers to make telephone calls over their cable-TV systems. The device also accommodates interactive games, and allows people to order as well as receive pay-per-view movies. The implications for telephone companies are self-evident. It seems that almost every time one looks at a newspaper or journal, there is a story about one technology stepping on the toes of another. The fact that these technologies are tied to specific industries, professions, etc., does not solicit any analyses which suggest there are options and other variables and parameters that should be factored into the equation. A society constantly reeling from the barrage of soundbites should know better than to display knee jerk reactions to every proclamation. If every potentially impacted organization were to react to the forecasts associated with each technological development or new product, chaos theory would be illustrated daily in terms everyone could understand. In fact, the proverbial paradigm shift would approximate an avalanche of diverging systems and protocols offering hope but not filling needs. Inertia and the status quo are not referenced here as appropriate responses to new competition, but perspectives have to be maintained in the light of reason and the framework of the larger picture. For compa-
302
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
nies, industries, and libraries, market share has some meaning, but it may best be protected in the context of rational and evolutionary analyses and actions, and not in revolutionary, step-function approaches. Libraries, led by librarians, are following the former strategy, and through it they are shaping new and credible audiences for their services, as well as holding onto traditional devotees. The proclamations about paperless offices and paperless libraries have been heard, and will continue to be made, and they may someday come to fruition. But, in the meantime, libraries have missions to fill- conducting the business of serving up information needed by our end users. Devoting full-time budgets solely to the promise of technology was logical in the early days of the space program. In that case, however, there were no yesterdays. As managers responsible for bringing deliverables in the form of quality controlled information sources to faculty and students, it is incumbent upon libraries to optimize services on the basis of what works best for the end users. To supply only that which is in a particular format is a mistake-at least as long as it takes many formats to meet the comprehensive needs of our users. The profession is moving responsibly in new directions which capitalize on the antecedent strengths of librarians while also embracing the new skills required to expand horizons. In short, the profession has not allowed itself to follow in the footsteps of the railroad industry. The railroad industry thought of itself as being in the railroad business, when, with a broader vision, it could have evolved differently through a realization that it was in the transportation business. Libraries have not settled on a mind set which focuses only on delivering books. But in moving progressively beyond our old boundaries we also have chosen, wisely, to be aware of the admonition of Paul Saffo, the futurist, who warns “...to not mistake a clear view for a short distance.”