Director of library brings technology

New laptops already here, self-checkout an upcoming library upgrade

By Joseph Johnson
The Collegian

WHEN YOU ENTER his office in the Henry Madden Library, you wouldn’t think it had been a storeroom only months ago. His desk is crammed in the back, making room for another occupant. The walls are decorated with art deco prints, train models and even a single empty bottle of Tab soda. You wouldn’t assume this is the man responsible for bringing the library to the forefront of information technology, but it is.

Dave Tyckoson has worked at the Henry Madden Library for eight years, slowly progressing from a general reference librarian to the head of public services in recent times. “Libraries are traditionally divided into two parts, the public end and the back room,” librarian Ross LaBaugh said. “And when I came here, there was no one in charge of the public end. And that was a shock to me. I didn’t understand how you could not have someone overseeing all of public service activities. Since Dave has been here, he has become that man.”

Tyckoson began his work as an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, where he worked as a student assistant in the library.

“Most people do not go straight through to becoming a librarian,” Tyckoson said. “I would guess maybe 20 percent. I was one of those. Most people go off on another career, often to teach and decide later to go back and go back to get a master’s degree. I don’t know what the age is now, but a few years ago the average age of someone going back to get a master’s degree in library science was 37.”

It was at the University of Illinois that Tyckoson’s appreciation for technology and what it could do for patrons, grew. Utilizing computer punch card technology, Tyckoson saw great potential for electronics and their applications in the libraries of the future.

“He is very good with computers, technically savvy and I think that is something we need,” reference assistant Julie Hernandez said. “We have evolved from having no computers to numerous computers.”

WHEN TYCKOSON FIRST arrived, the library had separate computer workstations for everything:

LexisNexis, ALIS, and a CD-ROM drive, each color-coded and apart, forcing the patrons to shift between computers to research different databases.

“Since becoming the head of public services, which was two years ago, my goal has been to get all the different units at every department to do more stuff,” Tyckoson said. “Last summer, I changed all of the loan periods so everything goes out: media, CDs, videos, if you want it, you can check it out now.”

Dave has been one of the most outspoken members of the staff in this regard, pushing towards more computers with greater ease of use for students.

“We now have a huge number of laptops,” Tyckoson said, rising halfway out of his chair in enthusiasm.

“We’ve had problems in the past with lines, people waiting, but now we’ve reached a point where we are close to the right number of laptops. The community people have options, but this is for the students. If you can take a book anywhere you feel comfortable, you should be able to take your technology there, too.”

And while the current implementations are good, Tyckoson has even more plans for the future.

“We are working on implementing self-checkout so people will not have to wait in lines,” Tyckoson said.

“We are going to be the biggest library in the country that is entirely on that technology.”

However, as with all change, the road to this point has not been an easy one.

“Students want Google,” LaBaugh said. “And they want it now. Someone described libraries once as a battleship. It is very hard to turn a battleship. You can’t do this quickly.”

“The technology is ahead of the policy,” Tyckoson said. “Certain people want to do everything new and fancy and other people like things the way they are. I always figure, if both sides are complaining, you are doing things just right. Because you are too slow for some and too fast for others, you are going at a perfect pace.”

Yet at the end of the day, despite the politics and the cost of bringing this technology home, it is the students who must decide if his efforts are worthwhile.

“When you help somebody, we may not remember them, but they always remember us,” Tyckoson said.

“They tell us they got an ‘A’ on their paper. I don’t remember what that paper was about, but when you get the feedback especially, that’s what is rewarding about this.”

Comment on this story in the Features forum >>