Assignment # 7

Lots of reading this week. Found the articles helpful. I had never been quite sure what Library 2.0 (or Web 2.0) really meant. Was there a Library 1.0 (or Web 1.0)?

I liked Meredith Farkas' approach. Her advice is to focus on our patrons' needs, not just the cool tools. The big question is, 'how do we assess our patrons' needs?'. How do we know what tools the patrons will use the most until we try them all? We also need staff time to implement these things. It would be great to be able to help patrons explore and learn these new tools but we really don't have the time to do that. She also cautioned that using these new tools to promote the library is only a positive change if the tools are updated regularly. I agree. There's nothing more frustrating than an out of date website.

'Away from the Iceberg', gave me lots to think about. Reduce our print collection? Eek! His point was that as patrons get used to the new technology (blogs, digital books), they will need books in traditional print form less. Made me think about the way I personally use the library. It is not often that I actually go to the shelf to browse for a title. I keep up to date on what is being published and place holds on the titles I want and wait for them to arrive, regularly checking my place in line, of course. Thank goodness not all patrons do that! He also mentioned that libraries used to have a monopoly on information. If you needed to find information, you went to the library and looked it up in a print source. We no longer have that monopoly. What can we do to acknowledge & adapt to that change?

'To better bibliographic services' by John Riemer, gave us some specific goals.
1) package & print metadata
2) broaden relevance ranking
3) adopt web features
4) expand delivery
5) streamline metadata creation (share info between institutions)
His challenge is that libraries should do more with the metadata they create.

In, 'To a temporary place in time', Dr. Wendy Schultz took me on a quick tour of Libraries 1.0-4.0.
1.0 = commodity; 2.0 = product; 3.0 = service; 4.0 = experience
Loved her description of the 4.0 neo library - 'a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light, coffee & single malt'. Hmmm... think of all the libraries you have been in and then narrow the list down to a few favourites. I'll bet they had most of these qualities (maybe not the single malt). I hope that no matter how much change there is in the way we exchange information from person to person, there will always be a room full of shelved books to do it in.