Thing 2. What is Library 2.0?

Before starting Thing #2 I decided to change my template and also add sunglasses and a dog to my avatar. That was fun.

What is Library 2.0? This is all very new to me, and I feel that any observations I have will be extremely elementary and obvious. The thought of putting myself and my thoughts out there to be seen and read by who knows who, especially by my co-workers, is somewhat intimidating. Perhaps that is relevant to the "trust factor" discussed in the article, "The Ongoing Web Revolution". Having watched the video of Stephen Abram, my limited understanding of Library 2.0 is that it is a presentation of what already exists in the web world, Web 2.0, translated into something that can be used in our library work settings and in our personal lives.

John Blyberg's blog and the comments that followed indicate that there are those who question the need or usefulness of Library 2.0, not only those who are just hearing about it and have no interest, but those who are accomplished Web 2.0 users who think that Web 2.0 is enough. Library 2.0 is a bridge for the rest of us to learn to use the tools that are already out there. Our library users that are tech savvy are aware of the possibilities and will be looking for our libraries to adapt accordingly. Of course a balance has to be maintained where one age or interest group isn't appeased at the expense of another, but those tech savvy youth are going to be around for awhile! Followed by more of the same. Furthermore, even though not everyone will want what we can offer through Library 2.0, there's a good chance they will in 2 years or 5 years. Obviously not every aspect of Library 2.0 is going to be useful or beneficial in every setting, but there certainly shouldn't have to be an "all or nothing" acceptance or application.

It's hard to imagine what libraries, and ours in particular, will look like in 10, 20, or 50 years. However, we likely have clues presented to us every day that are either ignored or considered to be an intrusion on what we are currently doing. We too readily associate change with disruption and cost and don't try to envision the benefit. Change does involve cost and choices and I'm thankful to not have to make those hard decisions. Change also involves attitudes, and that does include us all. We can say, "We have never had or done that, and never will", or we can allow some room for speculation and at least put the idea on the back burner. Something that may seem foolishly unnecessary today has a way of becoming essential in time. The future isn't something or somewhere that we will suddenly, magically arrive at in 10, 20, or 50 years after vigorously defending and maintaining the status quo. The future is today, tomorrow and next week.

I was especially intrigued with the idea of potentially being able to browse a "wall of books" via the web instead of just retrieving books as we do now. I also think it would be fun for our library to provide a way for our local library users to submit reviews of books, similar to what Amazon has. The reviews would be especially meaningful and interesting coming from people that may be known to each other. Another practical application might be to make it easy for library patrons to maintain a list of all material they have checked out in the past.

I am ready to tackle the next stick in the 23 sticks and am still enthused about the endeavor. I can see where it can become addicting. Maybe that's one of those unintended consequences! Since I work part-time I am more able than some to find the time. I am looking forward to learning how to do more of those things that, at most, I've only heard about before.