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Upping the Ante
Paul Kobulnicky
Vice Chancellor for Information Services and University
Librarian
As you can see from the byline, I have a new job, having been recently asked to lead the university's efforts in what is referred to generically as an information technology. IT, as it is known, encompasses anything that uses intelligent machines and telecommunications networks to move data into position to inform action. Forgive the jargon; that's one of the hazards of this discipline. Of more importance to me, and to you, is the clash of values that new technologies seem to occasion.
Over the past few years, my library colleagues and I have worked diligently to utilize computers and networks to maximize access to information. Digital information is never "in use." Always available, it supports multiple users at any time of the day or night from any location. That's one of the primary reasons we favor it. Interestingly, the complaints I get are not about how well or how poorly networked information fulfills that mission. They are about how technology threatens the printed book. The assumption is that the success of networked information can come only at the expense of the success of print on paper. It does not. After you have spent ten cents per page to print out something on you home printer, consider the relatively advantageous economics of a paperback book. When your diskette is no longer readable after a few years of sitting in your desk, think about how you will still be able to read that yellowing paper.
Expanding the use of information technology beyond the library to the entire university enterprise of teaching, learning, research and service ups the ante in the clash of values. Mention computers in relation to education and folks will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that computers do not increase learning; that learning is solely a function of person to person interaction. Once again, the assumption is that the success of computers in learning can come only at the expense of people teaching people. The reality is that computers can, and should, enrich the learning process effectively, without displacing human interactions.
In my new role, I have three near-term goals. The first is to help the university gain recognition for the successful and effective utilization of technology in teaching, research and service. The second is to remind everyone that technology is a means to university success, not an end unto itself. No matter how advanced it may become technologically, if the university fails to advance knowledge, it fails utterly.
Finally, cognizant of the potential for truth in the adage that "men and just boys with more expensive toys," technology must be applied cost-effectively. Technology, especially cutting-edge technology, is expensive, and university budgets are limited. We must implement new technologies in ways that will advance the university's mission strategically and that will make us more productive.
Monumental library collections can no longer be built without regard to costs; neither can we create technological palaces without consideration of the payback. To leverage the university's limited resources to meet our vision, we must choose all of our tools with both the future and our mission in mind. Throughout the academic enterprise, technology must be applied as just one more tool to be used in achieving our goals, complementing those traditional tools that continue to be effective and valued.
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