I saw and participated in a discussion on this on one of my email lists last week. I thought I’d take more time to write out my thoughts and responses on my blog. Sarah posted this over in MaintainIT but it looks like she didn’t open it up for comments so I’m going to.
Here is part of the email I sent the list
One of the problems I’ve seen with 2.0 is the library runs out and gets a blog or facebook page or whatever and declares themselves 2.0. They don’t consider who they are trying to reach, what they are trying to accomplish, how they will accomplish it or measure success. We need to take the same approach to 2.0 that we’ve taken to library services for years. Not every tool will work for every library and community. Some libraries have wildly successful film programs or extensive tools for small businesses, but not every library does. We look at what our community needs and what works best for them. The same approach should be taken with your web tools.
My answer is yes. I think there are many aspects of Library 2.0 (and web 2.0) that are providing better service to our patrons. Right now I’m using a blog to create a new Readers Advisory service for our patrons. Learning 2.0 & Learning 2.1 teach our staff about technology and terms our patrons are using that they might now have known about before.
I can go on and on with examples and arguments, but what I really want to know is What do you think? Do you have some great examples of Library 2.0 or Web 2.0 is helping (or not helping)? Is the objection to 2.0 that we’re placing a value judgment on it that we don’t apply to traditional services ( and by that I mean when we order the latest romance or horror novel)? Are we doing a disservice to our patrons by having a blog? Are gaming events a waste of our valuable time? What should we be doing with our time?
Leave a comment