Jason Griffey - Böcker

Library Technology Reports, January 2018 (54:1)As the world of information access has pivoted from physical goods to digital screens, the ways that libraries measure themselves have changed. For years, measurements such as door counts, circulation tracking, and material tracking have been used to evaluate library building usage. With new advances in sensor technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, computer vision, and more, we are now beginning to be able to monitor spaces in ways that were previously unthinkable.In Library Technology Reports (vol. 54, no. 1), “Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Itera­tive Design,” Jason Griffey explores these technologies and provides librarians and other interested parties with a look into what’s possible in the current state of technology for smart library buildings. In this report, Jason Griffey;Covers three case studies that explore how librarians are using technological tools to analyze library spacesShares new ways to think about your space and how you can measure building usageExplores the future of technological change and smart library buildingsLooking at three different projects that involved space metrics and analysis in libraries, this report shows how Virginia Tech; Con­cordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and the Measure the Future project are using technologi­cal tools to analyze library spaces to improve their environment for their users. Virginia Tech is research­ing how furniture movement acts as a stand-in for patron activity. Concordia University experimented with a project that monitored noise levels. The Mea­sure the Future project is using computer vision to see how patrons move around in library spaces and derive “attention” measures from those movements while doing so with a strong protection on any sort of identification of patrons. Finally, Griffey takes a look at what the next five to ten years of technological progress will bring and how that might change the possibilities for a smart library.

This issue of Library Technology Reports argues that the near future of library work will be enormously impacted and perhaps forever changed as a result of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems becoming commonplace. It will do so through both essays on theory and predictions of the future of these systems in libraries and also through essays on current events and systems currently being developed in and by libraries. A variety of librarians will discuss their own AI and machine learning projects, how they implemented AI and to what ends, and what they see as useful for the future of libraries in considering AI systems and services. First up is an essay relating the development and design of a machine learning system developed by a library and deployed to production in a library anywhere in the US. The system is HAMLET (How about Machine Learning Enhanced Theses) by Andromeda Yelton, currently a developer at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. At MIT, she created and developed HAMLET. Next, in chapter three, we have an essay by Bohyun Kim, CTO and associate professor at the University of Rhode Island Libraries, where she discusses the launch of their Artificial Intelligence Lab, which is housed in the library on campus. Then in chapter four, Craig Boman, Discovery Services Librarian and assistant librarian at Miami University Libraries, looks at his attempts to use a type of machine learning to build a system to assign formal subject headings to unclassified, full-text works. This report will conclude with a discussion of possibilities and potentials for using AI in libraries and library science.

As the maker movement continues to grow and 3-D printers become more affordable, an expanding group of hobbyists is keen to explore this new technology. In the time-honored tradition of introducing new technologies, many libraries are considering purchasing a 3-D printer. Jason Griffey, an early enthusiast of 3-D printing, has researched the marketplace and seen several systems first hand at the Consumer Electronics Show. In this report he introduces readers to the 3-D printing marketplace, covering such topics as:How fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing workBasic terminology such as build plate, spool, nozzle hot end, direct extruder, and Bowden extruderPlastics used, such as ABS, PLA, and othersDescriptions, price ranges, and filament specs for 3-D printers from MakerBot, Printrbot, Solidoodle, and other manufacturersSuggested staff skills for performing basic maintenance tasksWhere to find both ready-to-use designs and the software for customizing, from beginning to advanced systems