WEEK 6: Perspectives on Library 2.0 (#15 Thing)

Our assignment was to read several perspectives on Library 2.0, so here are my thoughts:

• Rick Anderson, Director of Resource Acquisition for University of Nevada, Reno Libraries posted a perspective on the OCLC Next Space blog, Web 2.0: Were will it take libraries? His post is entitled "Away from the 'icebergs.'” He addresses three potential problems: balance of print vs online collections (should libraries keep up a "just in case" book collection as web-based collections continue to grow); user education (can librarians give instruction to all their patrons); and, library buildings. My opinion is that digital resources will continue to grow and that is fine. It is still wonderful to have a library as "place" for those who want to socialize, are not web-savvy, have small children, and so on. I am online a lot at work, at home, and at-work-at-home. I get starved for company at times. User education can be live or online, just need more K12 schools to hire and better fund school librarians -- after all, they are teachers! Wake up, schools, school boards, state and federal departments of education!
  

• Michael Stephens, Librarian, Blogger, also provided a perspective on OCLC's Next Steps topic, Web 2.0: Were will it take libraries? Michael's article is "Into a new world of librarianship." He highlights 6 traits of 2.0 Librarians (plans for users, embraces web 2.0 tools, makes good yet fast decisions, is a trendspotter, gets content, and listens to staff and users.) My favorite is the last one: "Librarian 2.0 also listens to staff and users when planning, tells the stories of successes and failures, learns from both, celebrates those successes, allows staff time to play and learn, and never stops dreaming about the best library services."

• LibraryAdvocate's perspective: Librarians who are about to retire need to embrace web 2.0 BEFORE moving on to their next life stage. Whether we travel around the world or become "home-bodies," it is important to be able to reach out to an online community.