Library2.0

In order to wrap my head around Library and Web 2.0, I read all of the articles in Thing #16. I found myself underlining or highlighting key parts of each article I read. What I had to keep reminding myself was that Library 2.0 is NOT a set of technologies, but is a way of thinking. It is "right now" collaboration. Very interactive & very participatory. Library 2.0 puts users in charge, at least in part, of their own learning. This is made possible by all the tagging and sharing.

Rick Anderson wrote about 3 icebergs; potential disasters lying in our current path. As he shared about the second iceberg, "Reliance on user education," I started thinking about how I teach patrons how to use all of our electronic databases. I've spent a lot of time thinking about & planning for an evening class on a particular database, only to be disappointed with the poor attendance. Rick says to "focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need...But if our services can't be used without training, then it's the services that need to be fixed-not our patrons." So I still don't know how that translates into helping patrons use & utilize our databases, but it means I need to keep thinking on this.

I agree with almost everything that I've read about Library 2.0. However, in my mind, I definitely see a younger set embracing all of the Library 2.0 concepts, in addition to other age groups that are already fairly computer savvy. But I serve a lot of people all day long that are very unfamiliar with technology in general. I don't see Library 2.0 happening for those folks. Even though I know that Library 2.0 isn't a set of technologies, the concepts still require technology skills that many, many of the people I serve don't possess. And they have no interest in obtaining any more than the most basic of computer skills.

So far, of the 16 "Things" we've explored in Nebraska Learns 2.0, my favorites & ones that I can see incorporating into my professional life are: Flickr, Library Thing, Delicious, and SlideShare. But there are still 7 more "things" to discover, so maybe I'll have 7 more favorites to add.