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California State Library System Wants to Use GoPro Cameras to Create Virtual Tours

The new CIO of the state’s official document archive wants to take things digital.

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Phil Goldstein is a former web editor of the CDW family of tech magazines and a veteran technology journalist. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their animals: a dog named Brenna and two cats, Grady and Princess.

Do you want to view the collections of the California State Library system without ever leaving your home? That’s the vision of David Wanjiru, the system’s recently named CIO, who came on board in November.

Wanjiru recently told StateScoop that he wants to launch a “virtual library,” with video tours of the Library System’s archives and museum exhibits. How, exactly, would that be possible? Wanjiru says staff members would be given GoPro cameras to record the library’s collections.

“I don’t think it’s too farfetched — I think we can see the possibilities of that,” he says.

Taking the Library System Digital

Under the plan, the California State Library’s two branches — the Sutro Library, in San Francisco; and the Capitol Branch, in Sacramento — would be covered.

As StateScoop notes, the California Library system archives documents created by state agencies and helps other public libraries.

Wanjiru wants to use cloud technology as a way to store documents and e-books. “There are benefits that come from that environment in terms of the ability to make services quickly available,” he says.

Wanjiru previously spent 15 years at the California Highway Patrol, where he served as an assistant CTO.

“A lot of my understanding of IT is based on working in the government and helping with digitization and improvement of services and support for the public,” Wanjiru says. “I believe it’s really important for helping us improve our lives.”