My thoughts on "Library 2.0"

For SPL, Library 2.0 has given staff the opportunity to learn new tools, and to interact with each other more than normal - in both fun and frustration. Which can be read in the blogs that are tracking the/our work. 2.0 has allowed staff who would normally not attempt this to expand their horizons and it has given them some new toys/tools to play with.

Learning about Library 2.0 has been both fun and frustrating. It's been fun to dip my toes into the technological wonders that are available out on the web, finding out how things work and what they stand for. I had a lot of fun using the image generators. It's been frustrating because some of them are real big time-eaters. You can lose yourself trying to find answers, as well as finding more questions and more places to explore. But hey, that's life! What follows is my interpretation and comments on two of the given articles from the exercise.

Article #1: "To a temporary time and place" byDr. Wendy Schultz

Dr. Schultz puts forth her ideas upon the directions (past & future) of the rolls of libraries . Firstly, she defines the role of the library's current incarnation - that they are communities. Then she uses the "chain of meaning" chart to compare and contrast the placement of the library in relation to of all things the evolution of coffee offered to the public: coffee beans, Maxwell House coffee, coffee sold at Dunkin Donuts, and finally the Starbucks experience.

Now, if I am judging her statements correctly, the library and 2.0 is right around the Maxwell House level. Everybody is giving their opinion and that opinion is being changed willy-nilly by anyone who cares to. The next level that we are supposed to be shooting towards (3.0) is the one where people using the web utilize it to pick up the information from a reliably great source that will tell them exactly what book or information to get that they would like. And the final stage, is where people come to enjoy the full experience (storage, data retrievel, and solicited commentory) of the library. Something that sounds almost like Star Trek's holo-deck.

It read to me like the library is an ever evolving constant that will allow people to return to the beginning. That the library will be a place to disconnect from the ever-busy and all-connected world, almost like an old-fashioned club. But I see that the library is pretty much at the edge of that step. The library is an experience where people have the option to gather to pick up information, where they gather to connect with friends in person or on-line and where they gather to learn and think over new ideas. We're just waiting for the technology to catch up.


Article #2: "To more powerful ways to cooperate" by Chip Nilges

It will be a nice tool to have, the ability to see what is available on WorldCat. What I read sounded almost like a concentrated search roll that will allow people to see if that required item is available in the world. Would the searcher then need to go to their libraries to send for the required material? Or would the searcher be able to directly request the material be sent to them or be viewed online? That question is never touched upon in the article.

Acquiring the "user intelligence" as an added bonus makes me shiver in my boots. Because I immediately started to think of Wikipedia and how anyone can change information on its pages. Will this added user intelligence be kept separate from the original entry and just seen as someone's blog-notes about the information? Or something not as nice? We shall see.