Application for the Library of the Year Award 2017
Small but smart
In a team effort and under the auspices of Dr. Frank Seeliger, the employees at the TH Wildau /Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau library together with, iCampus Wildau (also part of the university) would like to apply for the Library of the Year Award 2017. iCampus Wildau is a project led by Professor Janett Mohnke, involving project collaborators, staff and students in the Telematics degree program. The group is an integral part of the university and is responsible for development of web-based tools and electronic data transmission on the Wildau campus.
Our library team was the winner of the prestigious Library of the Year Award 2012. Since then, we have had continuous support from all sides. In the space of five years in time, the pace at which society and technology have changed through innovative developments has been tremendous. Therefore, our reassembled team would like to take on the challenge once again and participate in this high-class competition.
Small but smart spans the bridge between our two teams and brings people and our concepts and ideas together. The library team as well as the iCampus team are very similar in character. Both have few employees and staff, however, these two small teams have proven to be exceptionally creative and innovative.
The latter team has implemented an indoor position-finding system in the library through the use of iBeacons, using the university’s very own UNIDOS-App (iOS and Android). A Master’s Degree Program for Library Sciences & Information Technology was developed and it is currently in the process of being accredited. Demand is very high yet again for the third kick-off semester of this degree program. Of course, we are developing practical applications for use in the library with our humanoid robot, called Pepper. Our collaboration is well equipped to face the challenge in view of this.
If we pool all six building blocks of this application for the Library of the Year Award 2017, then it must be obvious that we are making a venturous attempt at creating a Hybrid Library by bridging different media. Our goal is to interconnect classic duties in an information media center with new tasks. Regardless of whether it has to do with digitalization and automation of processes and services on offer. In particular, we are also concerned about whether employees and staff have the potential to develop and expand the use of digital services responsibly.
The German historian, Siegfried Weichlein once said: “The old beauty is not yet true and the new truth is not yet beautiful.” So, if all e-strategies follow his bon mot, then we will set the stakes and bet on a well-balanced brick and click library with our application! The building, the rooms, its infrastructure, all media and all applications are the focal point of all our well-planned and well thought-through changes that keep us up to date.
All of the Wildau teams’ initiatives focus on this point. Naturally, all these ideas and efforts should not be limited to the confines of the university campus, rather, they should be shared with as many interested parties as possible. In Wildau, we hold the annual Wildauer Bibliothekssymposium / Wildau Library Symposium, which hosts up to a hundred participants each year. Furthermore, we organize workshops on a regular basis and the Library Sciences & Information Technology Master’s Degree Program is an integral part (missing link: Studiengang). In the coming year, we would like to invest the allocated prize money in order to put our main focus on digitalization. For instance, we would also like to include elements such as TED Talk presentations.
The remaining part of the prize money is to be used for the adaptation of the university’s infrastructure, so that all open access activities can be used. Our goal is to be able to post up to 50% of all publications submitted at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau by 2020 (see bibliography PubLister). At the same time, we would like to establish a platform and develop a method for filing theses submitted at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau. Approximately 800 theses are turned in every year and one copy of each thesis must be kept and made available in the library. The main focus of all libraries in general is their function in society as a whole, open science, science for citizens.
In comparison: present use of building 10 and digitalized view of the library
In Summary
Ten years ago in Berlin: the weather was great and you could see all the way from Wildau to Berlin. There was a heated discussion for a number of years over an architectural tender – before and after – for the reconstruction of Berlin Castle. A year later, a very small Italian architect’s office won the bidding. They did not even meet the minimum requirements in personnel in order to proceed with such a project. However, Franco Stella does his job and is right on target, something that is not always the case for a construction project in Berlin/Brandenburg. This chutzpah, to dare to make something big out of a small thing is a fascinating anecdote for us and gives us courage to build our own castles. That is why our motto for this application is small but smart. That is what this application is all about: to be able to do something that is almost impossible for a small library team and a small cooperation with partners at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau. Here is a peek at a small screenshot, something that was prepared for Freshmans. By looking at this, you can guess what was made possible through networking and cooperation.
