I began my reading with Library 2.0 from Wikipedia . As I was reading I began to think about how I love feedback from students and teachers. It is so much easier to make informed decisions about collection development and library services when you know what the users want. I know that Library 2.0 goes way beyond that but it made me reflect on how valuable user feedback really is. Then I began to think about what a huge task just keeping up with user feedback could actually become. "Beta is forever" - I like that concept!
Secondly I read Web 2.0: Where Will the Next Generation of the Web Take Libraries. Upon reading the second paragraph, the phrase, "everything's connected" took on a whole new meaning for me. We have never been more connected than we are now.
Next, I printed off the Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto and posted it near my desk as a reminder that I/my library needs to be constantly reevaluating and updating, not just upgrading now and again.
I LOVED Rick Anderson's article, Away from the “icebergs” ; what an eye-opener. I am embarrassed to say I have sometimes been a "just in case" collection librarian. I totally agree with his statement that the services need to fixed, not the patrons, if they can't be used without training. This article has really made me stop and think more seriously about collection development.
What does Library 2.0 mean to me? It means constantly reevaluating and updating our library and its services beyond the realm of my limited experiences and knowledge, but in conjunction with the users in our library community and beyond, and based on their needs. What does it mean for school libraries of the future? We are going to have to ride along with this technology wave and quit being afraid of what's out there for our students. I think we have done a fairly good job in our district of "keeping up" we just need to continue to evolve so that we don't become obsolete. We want to continue to be a place that our students depend on whether they are at school or at home, wherever.
Zen Phyllis
2 comments:
I'm surprised that you liked the "Beta is forever" concept. In dealing with library automation and other online resources, beta has always been a dirty word to me, conjuring up all kinds of uncertainty and pain when the software doesn't work the way we think it should. Although it means pain to me, our students don't feel that way. They love playing around until they figure things out and are more forgiving when technology doesn't do what we think it should. We can learn a lot from them in this area.
From something I read I took this to mean what 2.0 is all about- no upgrades, no re-releases, you launch the orginal product(not perfect) and it evolves from there through reevaluating, updating and adding new information. I think I read that somewhere but I have read so much that maybe it is all running together now!!!
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