Recently, the Institute for the Future (IFTF) at the University of Phoenix Research Institute released their report – Future Work Skills 2020. IFTF is renowned for its work using advancing foresight methodologies and use a range of techniques, including using gaming to crowd-source foresights.

This report examines key drivers of change that will change the work landscape and offers up the 10 work skills that will be required to be able to successfully work in such a landscape.

The Six drivers of change are:

1. Extreme longevity – people will work until later in their lives, multiple careers will be common and lifelong learning will be a necessity
2. Rise of smart machines and systems – new tools will be available to use in every part of our lives, eliminating much rote type work
3. Computational world – huge increase in sensors and processing power giving us our world in data which can then be extrapolated in an amazing range of ways
4. New media ecology – a new way of communicating will become available, taking us way beyond text
5. Super-structured organisations – new technologies will change the way organisations produce and how things are created
6. Globally connected world – the world will be connected as never before and diversity and adaptability will play greater roles in design and production

Future Work Skills 2020 Summary Map

The skills that IFTF sees as being required in such a work landscape are each related to at least one of the key drivers of change (as represented using colour in the summary map above). The skills are:

1. Sense-making – being able to discover deeper meaning in what is being expressed
2. Social intelligence – being able to connect to other people more deeply and directly
3. Novel & adaptive thinking – being able to come up with solutions that are outside the box
4. Cross-cultural competency – being able to work in different cultural settings
5. Computational thinking – being able to make meaning out of vast amounts of data
6. New-media literacy – being fluent in new media forms
7. Transdisciplinary – being able to work in multiple disciplines
8. Design mindset – being able to plan our workplaces and workflows to achieve desired outcomes
9. Cognitive load management – being able to filter information and focus only on what is required
10. Virtual collaboration – being able to work effectively as part of a virtual team

These skills, at some level at least, are being taught in our schools now, but I can think of one profession at least (and we all know which), has developed these skills in its most of its current workforce, just through environment and necessity. Librarians, according to this report, even if you only have a fraction of these skills (which you will), your future is assured!

As many of us are back at work, its time to consider what the New Year is going to bring to our libraries. And as VALA 2012 is fast approaching, its only appropriate that we look at tech trends.

Mashable recently listed its 5 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012.  They are:

• Augmented reality
• Micro-payment economy
• Rise of the ultra-book
• Social/digital inclusion
• Mobile chip wars

Although not all of these will directly relate to libraries and their service, it is still useful to know what is happening on the technological landscape.

The trends that I see for already see for our library this year are:

• Mobile technologies – both expanding our options for users of them and using them more in our libraries for services – this includes doing more with QR Codes
• Discovery layers – we are launching ours in February
• Social technologies – embedding the library even more out in the online social sphere
• Technology diversity – possibly getting more diverse hardware for borrowers to use, already loaded with more specialist software than the usual standard offerings of Office and Internet

What do you see as the tech trends for your library in 2012? Will any of Mashable’s suggested tech trends be something that your library will be pursuing?

Interestingly, one of the commenter’s on the Mashable post listed the one thing that will affect everyone in some way or another this year. The biggest trend will likely be something that no-one has even heard of yet.  How true!

Happy New Year to all!

The winners of the 2011 Edublog Awards have been announced.

Some of Libraries Interact’s friends were nominated and we congratulate them on this amazing honour.

Check out the winners and runner ups – I am sure you’ll find something to add to your feed reader.

Internet Librarian 2011, with the theme “Revolutionizing the Net with Content, Connections & Conversations”, is heading into its last day at Monterey, California – but its not too late to watch the Live Stream (if you’re a night owl), or follow the live action from the participants views on Twitter. (follow the hash tag #IL2011 or #InternetLibrarian)

Much as we would like to be there, we can still get the latest on what’s coming out of the conference through the Conference Blog. Alternatively, the conference is also being well covered by the likes of David Lee King and Librarian in Black, or one of the officially listed conference bloggers.

If you want to see the presentations, you can download them, but have to login. (User name/Password: il2011/il2011)

Don’t forget that Internet Librarian International in London is coming up, on 27th and 28th October, where more great content will be shared.

And once you have been suitably inspired, ALIA Biennial is seeking abstracts for the conference in Sydney in 2012.

This week there will be no tag cloud, but there will be apologies to William Shakespeare…

To meme, or not to meme: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler on rice to suffer
the quirky things our borrowers do,
Or to take arms against a gratuitous pet blog,
And by travelling through the sense of home? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by gamestorming to say we end
The podcasts and collective innovation
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a book review
Devoutly to be wish’d.
To blah, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance sweater p()rn:
ay, there’s the rub;
For in that Pondering Pentecost what dreams may come
When you’re sick in 2011,
Must give us price: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of Too lazy to Post;
For Glenti would bear the overdrive(n) to despair,
The information architecture, and digital libraries,
The progress of despised love, the new blowtorch
The rock star life and the spurns
That patient merit of what are you selling,
When he himself might op shop holiday make

Libraryhack is a mashup and apps competition being held in May 2011 and is a key project outcome from the NSLA Re-imagining Libraries project – Community Created Content.

Libraryhack aims to encourage the creative and innovative re-use of library data and digital content from Australian and New Zealand libraries.

Have you got a great suggestion for a new and innovative way to use library data but maybe not the technical skills to bring that idea to life? Why not submit an idea for an application or data mashup for the chance to win in this pre-Libraryhack competition. Your idea might then be developed by someone else as an application or mashup as part of Libraryhack. For inspiration have a look at the list of datasets to be made available by the participating libraries and submit an idea on the Libraryhack website. Victorian public library staff are eligible to enter and you can enter as many times as you like.

Entries opened on the 8 February and close on 30 April.

Check out some of the ideas that have been submitted at
http://libraryhack.org/ideas/idea-entries/

Submit your entries at
http://libraryhack.org/ideas/ideas-form/

The State Library of Victoria is running a 2-day event around Libraryhack on Friday 20 May and Saturday 21 May. Booking are free and can be made at:
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/event/libraryhack

The first day will be a day of sharing inspiration and wisdom around informing people how they can improve and refine their apps, mashup, artwork, or digital stories for the Libraryhack competition, which closes on 31 May. The second day is a hands on event for developers and technology experts to share ideas and develop their projects.

What a challenge!

Open Source software now has to be considered as part of any Australian government agencies ICT procurements, as of March 2011.

Australian Government – Department of Finance and Deregulation – Open Source Software Policy.

It will be interesting to see which agencies (if any) will take implement Open Source solutions and which ones they will be.

(thanks to New Technologies for Libraries Blog for the heads up)

Fresh from the press, a leaked presentation to Yahoo’s internal staff, has shown that amongst other things, they will be shutting down delicious, the pioneering social bookmarking website.

Yahoo product consolidation

Yahoo has laid off quite a few staff of late and as a result is consolidating its products: shutting down some, merging others and putting their emphasis on yet others. You can read all the details and see the evidence for yourself at Tech Crunch.

A petition is underway via Twitter, to try and save delicious and in a very short time has picked up a lot of momentum. However, its hard to say whether it will have any impact.

So if it doesn’t and there is no way to save delicious, what do we do with all our bookmarks that we have fastidiously saved and organised there?  You have to love Wikipedia. They have a great list of social bookmarking sites for you to explore.

At least you now know what you are going to do on your holidays.     

Any recommendations?

Nominations are now open for both these prestigious library awards.

The Library Journal Movers and Shakers Awards recognise excellence in librarians across a wide range of disciplines, not just technology. They are a great way for applauding the wonderful work librarians do to elevate our services and our profession and to improve the services, organisation and standing of libraries in our communities.

The Library Journal Movers and Shakers awards went international a couple of years ago and Australia’s own Paul Hagon joined the auspicious ranks of awardees, by being recognised in 2010.

LJ Movers and Shakers 2011

On to 2011:

“The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Our tenth annual round of Movers and Shakers will profile 50 or more up-and-coming individuals from around the world who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers and Shakers 2011 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead.” (Library Journal)

In its tenth year, it would be great to see a second and maybe even third, fourth and fifth, Australian to be acknowledged with a Mover and Shaker award – but the only way this will happen is if we nominate them.  We all know someone who would be worthy of such an accolade, so take the time to share your appreciation of their work by nominating them. Nominations close 1st November 2010.

On the local scene, nominations are also now open for the 2010 VALA Award.

“The VALA Award, made biennially, is presented to the Australian library or information centre judged to have made the most innovative use of information technology during the previous two years.” (VALA)

The ‘use’ would have been implemented between July 2008 and June 2010 and the nomination of a library or information centre can be made by any person. Guidelines and nominations are available from the VALA Award page.

Two opportunities, one to recognise the great individuals in Australian Libraries and the other to recognise the great work of our libraries – support your colleagues and our libraries be ensuring they are nominated for these awards.

With our usual love of trying new things we have started playing with paper.li which creates a daily ‘newspaper’ view of tweets.
Not only does it gather the tweets but also features the media and content to which they link.

Paper.li is in alpha release at present. Check out the widget in our sidebar and click through to see the paper.

This one is based on the libsinteract twitter account and the accounts that it follows, but other ‘papers’ can be set up to prepare a roundup based on a hashtag.

Please take a look and tell us what you think.