The library in a new digital age

The last decade has seen the arrival of the new digital age. The Internet has become more important then ever and digitization of everything around us has been going on at full speed. The way we consume and pay for products in changing drastically. Digital payments are going up, as a digital sales. Even the physical vs. digital goods are changing where digital distribution of games, movies, tv shows, music and books are slowly but surely moving towards digital distribution. Business models that worked 10 years ago have no chance of succeeding due to the way people use digital devises in their day to day lives.

How does an institute like the library carry over from the “old” business model into a new digital business model?

Finding quality in layers

If we try to define quality we will use many different parameters to make it measurable. These parameters differ from subject to subject. This makes it almost impossible to compare quality of a movie versus a book, even if they have the same story. But the medium does not simply allow us to say that one is better than the other, we mostly use our gut feeling to judge this. Although subjectivity is a big part of quality we still want to make it measurable, making it more objective.

We tend to measure quality to very specific parameters that apply to a medium or subject. This does not allow us to compare two different pieces. Even comparing a comedy movie with a action movie becomes really hard. But is there a universal way to measure quality?

I think there is!

cheating yourself out of a technical problem

We all want to create the best technical solution, making sure it flows naturally and that it looks good. But there is always time and budget pressures that do not allow you to create that perfect piece of software that you want. It is always a struggle between quality, time and money that shape the resulting product.

Interestingly there are always ways to cheat yourself out of an issue to fix it later. The solution might be not technically the best but it can work for 90% of the time and when it fails you can make it matter less. Cheating the client out of the best solution might make them happier than delivering a perfect product.

The glocal universal media library

We have IMDB, we have Last.fm, we have Wikipedia and thousands of other database websites with information about media items. Currently we search for information on books, music and video via search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. Searching through website that hold all the information is done very well. But the raw results are not always satisfying enough.

Are we looking for a website like last.fm when we are looking to buy an album? I know Google’s shopping filter would be an option for that. But what about lyrics, videos, publishers, local shops and all other kind of data one could be interested in. Last.fm provides a lot of data but with an agenda. Not always ambiguous, focused on music alone and not very singular.

Libraries do have this kind of structure and ambiguity. What they are missing most of the time is completeness of data and the simple fact that it is only data from one library. Can we create a more universal database focused on providing single records of data that contain everything one would ever want to know about it?

my way part 5: time management

Okay… I do a lot… I mean a LOT! Next to a 40 hours a week job I do freelancing work, I do some voluntary work, I do some sports, I find the time to work on personal projects and responsibilities and I have a surprisingly busy social agenda. WTF… my week must consist of at least 200 hours!?

Well that is not the case… Working efficiently, planning and taking that little bit extra time to look ahead makes all the difference. An up to date agenda is a start… but what about those double bookings and those things that tend to slip in unintentionally. How can I deal with on the fly social events?

Everybody always says to me: “you don’t have time, you make it”. I do not agree with this at all. I would rather say: “There is only so much time, better use it well”.

my way part 4: personal development

In an ever changing world… they one that is standing still is the one moving backwards.

Many people go to school, college and then university. After they are done they start to work, learn about the trade and keep on doing that until their ready for pension. The modern world is moving at such a pace that 10 years from now we are required different skills to be able to function within a work environment. The tools of the trade are changing and so are the idea behind them. Technology does play a big part in this. But what about you?

“It takes only one person to change your life…you”
Ruth Casey

my way part 3: freelancing

Freelancing can be a dream and nightmare at the same time. Working as your own boss can be liberating. It can also bring extra stress as you are the only one to blame. On the other hand you can choose to work without wearing pants…

Whatever your thrill is that you are freelancing you are a special breed. If takes special skills to be able to deal with life as a freelancer. You must have discipline to do work without someone pushing you. Knowing something about legal, taxes and other business related fields is also very useful. But how do you run a successful freelancing business?

my way part 2: the day job

Having a steady income can be important. Normal office hours from 9 to 5 can be southing and can bring some order in your life. This… does not sound very much like me… in any day job my hours were more like 10ish to 6ish and maybe even later…ish. I don’t feel a lot for a day job with all the regularities, managers and regular payment. I’m more a guy that get’s out of bed, does work when he wants to, is his own boss and gets paid whenever he is working.

Okay, I have a day job. I could consider this as a bad thing. Working in an office by day so I can work as a hacker at night. But I’m switching that definition around. My freelance work became my day job and my day jobs allows me to do the cool stuff.

my way part 1: from hobby to job

Turning your hobby into a job sound like music to peoples ears. I had the opportunity to take that chance and get to work in an industry I considered to be my hobby. Not many get that chance and I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I like most.

I think Corey Haines made one of the best remaks about this; “Get paid to do things you enjoy”, “We have the greatest job in the world. Except maybe fighter pilots”.

Turning the hobby into a job sounds easier then it is. Look at how much work musicians and other artists need to put into their work before they can taste the fruits of their labor. And remember that not all artists make good money, but they are happy with what they are doing!

my way part 0: intro

I’ve been a web-designer/developer for a couple of years now. I have a 9 to 5 job and I do freelance work on the side. Not so different!? Well, I became conscious about why I worked and what I like to do fairly early on. In high-school I already figured out that I like design and I liked to invent things. I had “the nack” as Dilbert was told by the doctor. There are many routes to take but I found my way into the industry that is called the web, and I found it during the best time to join in!

I developed my own way of working and looking at work over the last couple of years. I’ve seen similar thing popping up as we are changing the way we work. I have been wanting to write this for about a year now as I get so many questions about how I manage to do it, different problems that may occur and the different perspective I have. So, I’m writing it down so everybody can read the basics before they start asking questions.

In the upcoming weeks I would like to touch a couple of subjects when it comes to how I work and why I do things in a certain way.

• From hobby to job
• The day job
• Freelancing
• Personal development
• Managing time

I will publish a new section every week on Monday. So stay tuned for more as I will update this post with the links to the other posts.