Method 2--Thoughts on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

From what I have read and seen, it seems to me that Web 2.0 is a term for describing how the Web is becoming more and more user-friendly and interactive. It used to be that only experienced programmers could create web pages, and the pages they created were fairly static and didn’t invite or allow “audience participation.” The user read the information on the page, and that was about it.

The Web now is highly interactive and so easy to use that even “old dogs” like me can learn new tricks: using wikis, creating web pages, and blogging, for example. The Web is about personalizing the experience, networking, and cooperating.

I really enjoyed the video “The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version)” by Michael Wesch. It is interesting to watch and presents a lot of things to think about. The way that the images change so fast is like a visual representation of how fast technology itself is changing and expanding.

I think that Library 2.0 is the attempt to keep libraries relevant in the Web 2.0 world, and the attempt to give patrons the assistance they need. In his video, “Stephen Abram launches Murdoch University’s 23 Things,” Abram says that it is “putting the library in the space where people are.” I think that is what librarians have always done—taken people where they are and given them information and ways to use it. When asked how we can keep up with advances in technology, Abrams says we just have to make the time and make it a priority, as we do with the other things that are important to us.

Libraries have always had to change and evolve with the times. One recent example of that is an article that I read about the Cushing Academy library in Massachusetts. The library is discarding its entire collection of books and replacing them with electronic readers. I understand the need to keep up with changing technology, but I do have a problem with this quote from the school’s headmaster: “When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. As a life-long lover of books, that one hurts!

Library 2.0 is an opportunity to have a profound impact on the future, according to Stephen Abram (School Libraries article). He says that libraries should embrace the future, not block new technologies. Echoing what he said in his video, he says “Librarian 2.0 is where the user is, when the user is there.” Sounds like a mission statement to me!