Blockchain in Libraries

Michael Meth
Library Technology Reports
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$38.70
Price
$43.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-1821-0
Published
2019
Publisher
ALA TechSource
Pages
28
Width
8 1⁄2"
Height
11"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the authors

This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 8), “Blockchain in Libraries,” examines the application of blockchain in libraries. Blockchain technology has the ability to transform how libraries provide services and organize information. To date, most of these applications are still in the conceptual stage. However, sooner or later, development and implementation will follow. This report is intended to provide a primer on the technology and some thought starters. In chapter 2, the concept of blockchain is explained. Chapter 3 provides eight thought and conversation starters that look at how blockchain could be applied in libraries. Chapter 4 looks at the barriers and challenges of implementing blockchain in libraries. Chapter 5 raises some questions around ethical issues that librarians should consider with respect to blockchain implementation.

Chapter 1—Introduction
Chapter 2—Blockchain Primer    
Chapter 3—Case Studies and Thought Starters
Chapter 4—Barriers and Challenges to Blockchain Implementation in Libraries
Chapter 5—Ethical and Other Considerations
Chapter 6—Conclusion

Michael Meth

Michael Meth is the Associate Dean, Research and Learning Services, at the Florida State University Libraries. Michael has the pleasure of overseeing a team dedicated to shaping the libraries’ services for students and faculty, creating programs and partnerships that enhance and support research at all levels, and ensuring that the libraries are integrated into teaching and learning at FSU. Before coming to FSU, Michael was a librarian at the University of Toronto (UofT) libraries. There he was the Director of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Library and also held an appointment as adjunct faculty at the Institute for Management of Innovation at UofT Mississauga. Michael has taught courses on leadership for aspiring librarians and information professionals at UofT’s iSchool and a finance course in the Department of Management at UofT Mississauga. Prior to this appointment at OISE, Michael was the Director of the Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre at the UofT Mississauga Library. He holds a master of information studies degree from UofT’s Faculty of Information Studies (now the iSchool) and a bachelor of business administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University. In 2014, Michael was selected as a Senior Fellow at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and in 2013 he participated in Harvard’s Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians.

Library Technology Reports

Published by ALA TechSource, Library Technology Reports helps librarians make informed decisions about technology products and projects. Library Technology Reports publishes eight issues annually and provides thorough overviews of current technology. Reports are authored by experts in the field and may address the application of technology to library services, offer evaluative descriptions of specific products or product classes, or cover emerging technology. Find out more information on this publication and how you can subscribe here.