Blockchain and the Library: Beyond the Numbers Game

Huwe, Terence K. "Blockchain and the Library: Beyond the Numbers Game"  Computers in Libraries  39(1)(January/February 2019): 8 - 10. (http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jan19/index.shtml). - For those seeking to understand how blockchain might be used in libraries, the author explains that “blockchain technology is essentially a peer-to-peer network” and provides half a dozen resources to expand on librarians’ knowledge. This peer-to-peer capability “opens opportunities to build community as well as new forms of collaboration.” The first possibility is using blockchain as a ledger to streamline metadata services. The second is to create communities of users who could use blockchain to share materials and services with each other in a digital library. Third, to embed libraries even more deeply within cities and counties as a “trusted agent” maintaining digital repositories for their funding entities. The innovative possibilities created by this disruptive technology are limited only by the imagination. - NN