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The Library Technology Innovation Profile Series spotlights academic librarians who promote technological innovation in their community

IGI Global Profiles Raymond Pun of California State University, Fresno

By IGI Global on Dec 14, 2015
In effort to support the advancement of library technologies and services, IGI Global has implemented the Librarian Profile Series as part of our Library Technology Innovation Program. This series features the profiles of today's leaders and specialists in knowledge management advancement and technologies. For our latest profile, we spotlight Raymond Pun of California State University, Fresno.


IGI Global Profiles Raymond Pun Of California State University, Fresno First Year Student Success Librarian Raymond Pun at Henry Madden LibraryName: Raymond Pun
Position: First Year Student Success Librarian
Library: California State University, Fresno

How do you consider yourself a technological innovator?

I always think of creative ways to use emerging technologies to enhance library services whether it is for reference, instruction or outreach.

Utilizing technologies creatively to support library patrons can be fun to experiment and to assess. The title "technological innovator" is interesting because in all my library positions, I've always applied technologies into my own services in an innovative way. For example, at New York Public Library, I utilized Prezi in active-learning library instruction; at NYU Shanghai, I created and utilized a WeChat account (a popular mobile app in China) for virtual reference services. Here in Fresno State, I am getting to learn about different technological roles and needs on campus and plan to collaborate with different departments to support gamification programs, hackathons, or digital learning objects. Possibilities are endless!

What programs are you currently involved in?

Right now I am teaching a lot of first year library research workshops in different areas such as Education, Linguistics, Communications, etc. I am currently convening a group of faculty and librarians who support first year students and we are looking at different instructional technologies and online tutorials to support information literacy (IL) for all first year students and integrate IL into the first year academic curriculum through instructional technology. This has been a great experience to work collaboratively with colleagues who care about our first year students and their information literacy needs.

What areas of technological innovation do you consider the most exciting?

These days it seems like developing and implementing new apps are innovative and trendy. I'd like to add that it would be of interest for libraries to consider these exciting activities in their own services and how it contributes to the overall information ecosystem. There are so many creative apps out there to manage information, data, workflow, and projects. In some places, it's exciting to see students organize events and programs to support these initiatives in their academic communities because they've embraced the entrepreneurial spirit!

What technology-related projects do you see librarians implementing in the future?

I see librarians working more on developing "open education resources" with their faculty and administrators. I see them all collaborating on creating and designing sustainable and cost-effective digital textbooks through open access resources to supplement learning and reduce the cost of textbooks for students. Some campuses are already creating such partnerships and programs. Librarians are the experts in identifying appropriate tools, resources and e-books to support this initiative but it requires major communication, collaboration and commitment from all parties.

What advice would you share with a librarian looking to become a leader in supporting technology advancements?

I think it's important for librarians to try everything and see what happens. I am a fan of experimentation, innovation and assessment in this case. I think if librarians can think broadly on how information (including data and metadata) can be discovered, stored, preserved, and shared in creative, simple and helpful ways through technology then it would be of value to everyone. Take for example Tweets from Twitter, there are tools for mining Tweet for research purposes, but they can be expensive and difficult to use. If there are simpler and cost-effective ways that librarians can think of to create then we can certainly rely on our own services and not on expensive vendors. It'll take time to figure it out but I think librarians can start experimenting with technologies in different areas in their workplace, take and embrace (more) risks, have fun along and be comfortable with ambiguity because technologies will change how we do things whether we welcome it or not.


About Raymond Pun: Raymond Pun is the (new) first year student success librarian in Henry Madden Library in California State University, Fresno. Previously he was a reference and research services librarian in NYU Shanghai and a reference librarian in New York Public Library: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. His professional interests include gamification and emerging technologies in the library, digital scholarship and data management services and first year student engagement.


Related Newsroom Posts:
What Role do Librarians Play in Support of Technological Innovation?
IGI Global Profiles Ms. Lia Hemphill, Director of Collection Development at Nova Southeastern University
IGI Global Profiles McGill University Research Commons Director, Sara Holder
IGI Global Profiles Technology Librarian Cindy Hart of Tidewater Community College
Browse for more posts in:
EducationKnowledge ManagementLibrary and Information ScienceKnowledge DiscoveryKnowledge SocietyLibrary Information SystemsEvents & CollaborationsLibrary Technology Innovation SeriesNorth AmericaAuthor NewsResources for InstructorsResources for LibrariansResources for Researchers

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