Library 2.0… and please hurry!
Thing 2 - DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LIBRARIAN.
Reflecting on this reading selection for Web 2.0/Library 2.0, I felt the materials did a nice job of establishing just what the idea of Library 2.0 is all about. Albeit a very pro-Library 2.0 selection, I understand and agree with the need to bring newer technologies, innovations, and information seeking conventions into the library. (And making time to explore today’s information environment is very important, too!)
Over the past two years of graduate school along side Library Science, I have been exposed to a great deal about how libraries are organized and operate. I now have a finer appreciation for the library profession and just how far its positive influence has helped advance information and knowledge. That being said, I also don’t think that libraries have adapted too well to the move of information into digital format and onto the Internet. I draw a lot of comparisons to the recording industry and the advent of the MP3. Libraries must adapt to the digital information landscape, which is not going away.
However, I also don’t think that this means jumping on every new advance and trend that comes along for the sake of doing it. (For instance, is there significant service value in your branch having a Twitter account or giving patrons the ability to create Facebook-like user profiles?) I understand that the 23 Things exercise is intended to expose librarians to the world of Web 2.0, and hopefully that will foster some understanding of how people are using information and resources. But I think it should be underlined that this is not about setting up a bunch of different Web 2.0 service accounts around the web to interact with your patrons. Rather, it is about what you can learn from these services and how users interact with other successful information resources. Because to really address the overall service problems libraries face in the digital age, serious - and I mean SERIOUS! - changes need to be made at the core of library organization and operations to properly service information behavior in the age of the Internet. Otherwise, all attempts are just surface improvements.
