I believe that the technology that would improve the library for librarians the most from these four would be RFID. The convenience of being able to know when the stacks are out of order and when there is something missing frees up time so that the librarians can work on other projects, such as the library's blog or increasing the number of adaptive technologies within the library. It will also make it easier to check out books since multiple items can be scanned at once. Essentially, the RFID technology will allow librarians to get clerical and shelving type jobs done faster so that they can work on more in-depth projects that may have been on hold until the time and money had become available. Although RFID can be potentially dangerous to patrons, it can be very helpful to librarians. Maybe in the future a more secure form of RFID will become available.
On the other hand, of these four technologies I believe that blogs would be the most important to the patrons. Although adaptive technologies are crucial, blogs can be helpful and inclusive to all patrons. Being able to stay up to date on the latest library news will be incredibly helpful to those who are interesting on what's going on in their public library. In the past, it has been difficult to stay in tune with new hours, new policies, and so on if you were not frequently visiting the library or signed up for the library newsletter. Now, it could be as simple as assigning the library's blog to your RSS feed to get information as soon as it becomes available. In one of my other classes, I read a research article stating that many teens did not attend library programs because they did not know about them. With blogs, it will be easier to promote upcoming library programs, and it will be cheap, too! Blogs will definitely help patrons keep up with library news and announcements.
Reference:
Howard, V. (2011). What do young teens think about the public library? The Library Quarterly, 81(3), 321-344.
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