1	Mobile Libraries: Mobility, Singularity, and The Future of Our Sense of Place A Talk Given by Tom Peters at the online Handheld Librarian Conference on Thursday, July 30, 2009
2	These Slides are Already Online http://www.tapinformation.com/HHLtalkPeters.htm
3	Three Big Topics I’d Like to Raise and Discuss With You Mobility Singularity Our Sense of Place What’s really happening here with this mobile library “revolution”?
4	Stated Differently How are current and near-term future mobile library initiatives different from bookseller pushcarts and library bookmobiles? Is this a revolution, or just a gradual evolution, using current technologies?
5	Mobile Phone Technology Huge, rapid global diffusion and adoption According to the International Telecommunications Union (http://www.itu.int), at the end of 2008 there were over 4 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide (appox. 60 percent of the world’s population) Over 60 countries had 100 percent (U.S. not one) Greater diffusion than toasters, toilets, computers, and perhaps even paper Not as big as clothing and eating utensils
6	Consider All PP I/C/E Devices
7	What Are Mobile Library Services? Any type of library content, service, or system that can be accessed by and delivered to mobile devices, such as mobile phones. Collections Reference Services “Push” information (announcements, serial info) Library Website Online Catalog Tours See http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=M-Libraries
8	What Can be Mobile? Humans (carbon-based critters) Documents (text-bearing devices) Informal Communication (wassup) Formal Communication (reference, formal education, even advertisements) Information Experiences
9	Human-Based Mobility “lug the guts” “I’ll lug the guts into the neighbour room” Hamlet, Act III, scene IV Measured in person-miles Probably increased significantly in the last half of the 20^th century. May be flat or decrease during the 21^st century. Although travel costs will increase, we may become less mobile not because we cannot travel as much, but because we don’t need to.
10	Mobile Documents Take the documents to the users, rather than ask the users to go to the documents Interlibrary Loan Library bookmobiles Bookseller pushcarts Doesn’t really change how users interact with these documents
11	Mobile Informal Communication Hollering across valleys 2 tin cans and a string This has fueled the 60 percent worldwide adoption rate for mobile phones
12	Mobile Formal Communication
13	Mobile Information Experiences
14	Mobile Device as a Command and Control Center
15	The Library as a Place in the Real World A popular “third place” (after home and workplace) Heavily used during tough economic times Extinction behavior? (any behavior that becomes pronounced just before it dies) In general, we carbon-based critters like to gather together As mobile technologies advance, how often will we feel the need to get together?
16	What is a Technological Singularity? Machine intelligence will suddenly “wake up” The intelligence emergent in computer networks will quickly leave ordinary human intelligence in the dust Vernor Vinge Ray Kurzweil Perhaps both a threat and an opportunity
17	The New Singularity of Place
18	Consider this Quote from 1909
19	The Ironies of the Mobile Revolution
20	Libraries and the Mobile Revolution
21	Thanks for Your Time and Attention! Tom Peters Founder and CEO TAP Information Services Email: tpeters@tapinformation.com Phone: 816.616.6746 Web: www.tapinformation.com