Thursday, August 17, 2006

This library 2.0 thing

I've been struggling with the term "Library 2.0" I do not have a problem with moving forward with our technology and integrating these new technologies into the daily workings of the library. That's part of what we do. To me the term itself smacks a little of, not desperation, but a sense of urgency. When computers were first introduced to branches when I worked in circulation at the Independence library there weren't proclamations about library 1.5 making the rounds. Lifelong learning is obviously a good thing. I feel like a I do it every day as I check Bloglines or look at another library employee's blog or read a book review or answer some reference question that came out of the vicinity of left field.

Perhaps the sense of urgency is legitimate. Here at MOR I felt us slowly getting obsolete over the last year or so. I was telling way too many people that we didn't have wifi capability. Our computers were too slow and our CD-ROM's were read-only. Oops, they still only read but, you know what I mean. Is that what 2.0 is? A wake up call to libraries and their staff? Are we afraid of becoming obsolete?

Maybe the term Library 2.0 is something the outside world can discover and then think that their local libary is leading the way in technology. That is good for us. I guess in that way it's similar to the library of the year award we won a while back. Our foray into the world of Library 2.0 could be a little bit of marketing. It's something we can speak about to the media. One of the most enlightening statements I heard in library school was when the director of the program said, "the main goal of an institution is to survive." Library 2.0 is helping us to survive by being an image and a project.

I guess I see it as arbitrary. Haven't we always gone forward, tried new services, integrated new technologies? To me it's still the library with a few new toys. You could all it Library 6.66 and we'd still be trying new things and offering new services. What all this makes me wonder is are we too scared or not scared enough?



Straight to the top

I've found something that will put you in front of numbers on a list, punctuation.

3 comments:

HeleneB said...

Great thoughts - You're right L2 really is only a lable. What's important is that we're always trying to improve. :)

Mary Lou said...

Yes, this is all good! Information is what we are about...lest we get left in the dust! I wonder what we will be learning 10 years from now?

Ian said...

The thing that library 2.0 says clearly that makes it worthwhile for me is:

This stuff matters.

We're not just putting computers in because people have asked for them. We're not just adding videos and sound recordings because people want them. Library 2.0 is in a way not just about reevaluating the resources people want but the purpose of the institution that gives it to them. The end products are the same (information, education, entertainment), but the medium of delivery, and the direction of discourse have changed and will continue to change.

I kind of see library 2.0 as being an effort to not just integrate the new and emerging technologies but to be open to integrating all technologies, if they have a place.