After four months on the job, David Wanjiru is getting to know the California State Library’s unique mission within state government, and he’s thinking about the present and future of technology as the library’s CIO.
He’s been in the IT field and state government for his entire career, first for 10 years at the Department of Water Resources and then the past 15 years at the California Highway Patrol, where he managed the implementation of CHP’s computer-aided dispatch system, large-scale infrastructure projects, and database and network support.
Now, as a CIO for the first time, Wanjiru is beginning to think about what might be possible from a technology standpoint for the library’s eight-person Technology Bureau and the 100 staff members it supports across the state library.
In an interview with Techwire on Thursday from his office in downtown Sacramento, Wanjiru said he has enjoyed his experience so far and is acclimating to a new culture.
“In terms of how you interact with the public, on the law enforcement side, you tend to be much more close knit, and are much more in tune with wanting make sure things are safe and controlled. The library has a different role: to reach out to the community and be as open as possible and make information available,” Wanjiru said.
That different culture extends all the way down to the technology Wanjiru anticipates he’ll be working on. The State Library holds vast collections of cultural, historical and genealogical information, along with more than 2 million books. Wanjiru will be continuing the library’s effort to digitize special collections and other vital resources that should provide the greatest benefit, realizing along the way that it would be unfeasible to digitize everything.
Wanjiru said this year the State Library will be procuring new scanning technology. The equipment the library is considering will scan a book without having to flattening its binding on the imaging surface — which is especially harmful for rare or older books.
He’s also thinking about how the library could provide services and access to important topics and exhibits through the library’s social media accounts, as well as via mobile channels.
“It’s using technology to expand knowledge, and provide education and opportunities,” Wanjiru said.
On the back end, Wanjiru said the State Library might consider moving into cloud technologies and the state’s data center when the time is right and it makes sense. The library maintains its own server room today, and he said the library has invested previously in storage systems capable of housing many terabytes of data that aren’t yet being used to full capacity.
When those contracts end and the refresh cycle aligns, Wanjiru said it could be attractive to store data in the cloud if the cost and security are a good fit. The State Library also maintains much of its own hardware, including desktops, and Wanjiru said desktop virtualization also could be an option down the road.
“From a technology perspective, I can see the opportunities, but I also have to take baby steps. This is a small agency, about 100 people. What I keep in mind is we at the library are a ‘little gear’ in a big wheel that can turn and have a big impact,” Wanjiru said, alluding to the fact that there are more than 1,100 libraries statewide and the State Library acts as a conduit for them.
Moving the cloud could theoretically free up Wanjiru’s staff to work more on applications to support phones and mobile devices. Wanjiru foresees perhaps developing a business-focused app for the library staff or other tools that help legislators research the resources within the State Library — another part of the library’s mission. He’s also interested in building tools that help the public search the library’s increasing volume of digitized collections.
Wanjiru said he’s quickly realized he has like-minded allies among the librarians in the organization.
“I actually tend to think of librarians as being very close to information technologists because both deal with data and information. One group deals with it from a perspective of how to apply technology, its ease of use and how we store large volumes of information, and how we secure it. On the flip side, librarians have been doing this for centuries and have created methods for categorizing and collecting information — the Dewey Decimal System
“That same mindset is helping the rest of us look at information differently, maybe not from a machine technology perspective, but from a practical, book-knowledge perspective. The marriage of those two can help us move forward”
