(Guide time: an hour to 75 minutes.)

So where are things going now? Have a look at this:

(You can see the original of this at http://novaspivack.typepad.com/nova_spivacks_weblog/2007/02/steps_towards_a.html)

This is the way most internet gurus, like Tim Berners-Lee, think things are going.

• The vertical axis = how information is connected together
• The horizontal axis = how people are connected together

At the bottom left of the progress line is the Personal Computer era. Most PCs worked alone, so there wasn't much connectivity.


1. Web 1.0 (1990 to 2000). Computers were linked up, but the way information was shared tended to be "top down" - organisations made information available to individuals.


2. Web 2.0 (2000 to 2010) has seen the rise of user-generated content: individuals are creating content, and making it available to other individuals. New programming languages and protocols like RDF and XML are making information more findable, and when you use a search engine, it's using these standards to bring information together from a number of different places. Web 2.0 has allowed the growth of social networking in the shape of Facebook, Flickr, and LibraryThing, allowing people to come together in vast numbers.


3. Web 3.0 (2010-2020) is also called the "Semantic Web". New standards, programming languages and technologies will allow computers to understand the nature of information much better. This means that computers, rather than people, will bring information together at your request. For example, somebody researching Swine Flu could be presented with data, individual's experiences, graphs, interviews with doctors, news broadcasts - all tailored to their request. You can see the start of the semantic web when you see "mashups" on Google, bringing together information from a variety of people and places, or "feeds" which take information from one site and feed it into another.


4. Web 4.0 (2020-2030) is predicted to be the rise of the Web Operating System. This means that we'll no longer have computers as storage devices. All of your files will be hosted in the internet cloud, so that you will be able to access them from anywhere. Groups of people will be able to work on documents and projects together, and all of the computer processing will be done by companies in the cloud - so you'll be able to choose one of a hundred companies to do your word processing, or store your photos, or compose music. You can see the start of this in the shape of the file-sharing sites like Flickr, where you can store and share your photos, and Slideshare, where you can put your presentations.


It's hard to tell how accurate these predictions are, but it's quite clear that some really important organisations are putting huge amounts of money and energy into making web 3.0 and 4.0 happen.

Have a look at this EPN foundation video which gives some more information about way Web 1.0 morphed into Web 2.0 and onwards: Evolution Web 1.0, Web 2.0 to Web 3.0

What's a Mashup?

Mashups are websites or web pages that bring related information together from a number of different sites and presents it in a new way that wasn't originally intended by the creator of the original information source. By combining the information from different resources a new value added service is created. Read this About Web Mash-ups article and check out the 10 best mash-ups on the Web link.

For example, if you add a photograph to Flickr and tag it with 'Tower of London', your intention is just to have that photograph visible on Flickr. However, someone might have created a mashup on another site that allows people to search for photographs in Flickr taken at a particular location and then automatically present them on a map to show where they were taken. In fact they have. This is exactly what Panoramio (mentioned in Searching and Q&A forums) does.

What's the Semantic Web?

In the crudest terms, search engines find information by matching keywords found on a web site. The search engine makes no attempt to understand what it's finding for you in order to make sure it's fulfilling your search request. For example, if you search for the word 'Bank' Google will not understand the nature of your search - financial institution or the side of a river?

The Semantic Web tries to do this, but is probably a long way off from becoming a reality. A clear definition of the Semantic Web can be found on the About.com Web Trends site.

For further explanation if required, watch this video: Intro to the Semantic Web.

Related to the concept of the Semantic Web is linked data. Just like pages can be linked together by hyperlinks, information can be linked together by background coding that is very much like cataloguing: it identifies the individual bits of the data, such as the author or the subject. For libraries linked data could seriously enhance a catalogue entry. Imagine how useful that entry would be if it had links to an author biography on Wikipedia, links to related books, Amazon customer reviews, the author's Facebook fanpage or Twitter stream and so on. All this data is available on the Web, but if it was linked together it would enrich the user experience.

What else is heading our way?

Mobile technology

Mobile technology is probably the biggest thing that's going to have (is already having!) an impact on public libraries. There are so many portable devices now that can be used to access the internet: iPhones and other internet-connected phones, laptop computers, notepads, e-book readers, and now the new Apple iPad. It has been estimated that within the next 5 years more people will connect to the Internet via a mobile device than desktop PCs. The implications for public libraries are clear - our customers will expect to seamlessly access their accounts and online library resources using apps developed specifically for mobile users.

The numbers of people who now have mobile internet devices is huge, and growing fast: about six million people in the UK (that's one person in ten) had a mobile phone that could access the internet at the end of 2009. (Source: Nielsen). There are also an astonishing number of "apps" - little software programmes with various functions, from games to calorie counters. Apple has 159 000 apps available for its iPhone and iPod, developed by 30 000 different people or companies, at the time of writing (early 2010), up from 50 000 at the same time last year. (Source: 148apps.biz).

There are now apps that allow you to download free e-books. There are apps that allow you to scan a book's barcode, using your iPhone, and check other people's reviews for it. There's an app for the Oxford English Dictionary, and for the complete works of Shakespeare. Think of all the apps that public libraries could have. How about our catalogue, to start with? Or an app that allows you to book a library PC? Perhaps an app that allows you to scan a book's barcode in a bookshop to find out if the library has it? Or an app that keeps you informed about the top ten books borrowed last month from the library service?

The rise of mobile technology has led to location based services. LBS make use of the geographical position of your mobile device. For example based on your geographical position, the LBS on your mobile phone can identify your nearest restaurant, cinema, library or cash point.

One of the most popular LBS is Foursquare. Created in 2009, Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Points are awarded for "checking in" at venues with a smart phone. Users can choose to have their check-ins posted on their accounts on Twitter, Facebook or both. The advantages for business are clear as Foursquare encourages people to explore their neighbourhood and receive rewards for doing so. In this way organisations can engage with increasingly mobile customers and offer them discounts or prizes for coming in. Could libraries increase footfall with Foursquare? Perhaps offer a free drink at the cafe, or a free DVD loan if enough check-ins are accumulated?

According to Ericsson, RFID technology could be present in all mobile phones by 2011. This presents an intriguing opportunity for libraries who already use RFID to tag their stock. There are still a lot of technical issues to iron out but it may potentially be possible for mobiles to locate a book within a library by supplying the patron with a map to it's shelf. This interesting blog post speculates on this possible future.

QR codes

Internet-enabled mobile phones are allowing people to get information in new ways, and one of these is QR codes.

QR stands for "quick response" and the graphic on the right acts rather like a barcode. The process is similar: you have to scan a barcode with a special barcode scanner to get basic information about the item, and you have to scan a QR code with a mobile phone that has the right app downloaded to it.

If you scan the QR code on the right, you get taken to Surrey library service's online reference collection.

Barcodes link to limited information in comparison to QR codes. A QR code can take you to a website, or can display a telephone number, or can bring up a photo, or can play a podcast.

An interesting example of the use of these codes is Jodi Picoult's new book, Sing You Home. Each chapter heading has a QR code, and if you scan it your phone will play the music that accompanies that chapter.

They are easy to create - try typing "create qr code" into Google and you're presented with a long list of creator websites. Most of these are free to use. Why not put a QR code onto the next poster you create?

Virtual Worlds

The most popular virtual world on the Web is Second Life (SL). You may have difficulty accessing the actual SL website as it's probably blocked on library computers.

Launched in 2003, SL has over 21 million registered users and is a digital world created, developed and owned by its users (or residents). Anyone can access SL in order to communicate, engage and collaborate with others. SL is a useful way of gathering people together in one place if they are geographically dispersed, for example the Open University hold lessons here and distance learning students attend via their own PCs at home. It's even possible to make money in SL and some organisations have used SL to promote their services - including library authorities.

Just like 3D is starting to take off in the cinema and TV, creating a virtual experience that feels like the real thing is a holy grail for anybody involved with e-books or online library services. It's been hampered up to now by the fact that you've got to download specialist software in order to create or use virtual resources, but this kind of thing is getting closer and closer: library management system suppliers are creating new catalogues where you can flip through book covers to choose a book, and companies like Ideal Binary are creating apps that not only allow you to read e-books, but which add functionality that allows you to engage with the book in new and exciting ways.

How libraries use these technologies

1. Canterbury Christchurch University are currently creating maps to indicate the location of books on their shelves

2. In Second Life libraries (predominantly in America and Australia) are:

• Running reading groups
• Offering enquiry services
• Providing links to e-resources
• Holding courses or exhibitions

In July 2011 Birmingham opened up its library in Second Life, allowing residents to see what the new physical building will look like. Have a look at Birmingham's press release.

3. Using a Google Maps mashup, Florida Libraries pinpoint the locations of all their libraries. The British Library have created a Life in London mashup, using photographs from their collection, mashed with a Google map.

4. Brighton and Hove Council used Foursquare to encourage people into libraries

5. Librarything have created a mobile app called Library Anywhere. For libraries who subscribe, their users can get access to the online catalogue and also renew items, place reservations and find their nearest library on their mobiles. In November 2010 over 40 libraries across the world were using this app.

6. The British Library have a project called Turning the Pages, which gives a lovely virtual experience of reading manuscripts. Unfortunately you've got to download Silverlight software to experience it, which isn't straightforward - this might explain why the BL hasn't taken the project forward since 2007. If you've got the patience, you can play with it at http://www.bl.uk/ttp2/hiddentreasures.html/, where the BL has digitised important resources from UK public libraries.

7. QR codes are being freely used by libraries all over the world. Have a look at http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=QR_Codes.

Activities

1. With libraries closing and statistics showing evidence of less use, do you think virtual library services represent our future or are are they just simply a red herring? Write about it on your blog.
2. Invent an app. What do you think a member of the public would want to do with the library service, using their mobile phone? Write about it on your blog.

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