Thing #14

All I have to say about all this Web 2.0 and Libray 2.0 stuff is: "huh?!". I read several of the perspectives that we were asked to read and I think my eyes glazed over about half way through each article. What exactly are they talking about? Some of the people behind the articles, don't clearly state their feelings about all this. There are a lot of facts, figures, and examples given but nothing that tells me how they really feel about technology in the library. Are some of them saying that all the technology that is being introduced, is making a library more like a bookstore? After nearly 14 years with the library, I sometimes feel that way. There have been occasions where I felt like I was in a Barnes & Noble instead of in a library. (Come to think of it, the Barnes & Noble I used to work at, is actually quieter than my branch of the library!) I did like Dr Wendy Schultz's definition of what a library is:

"What are libraries? Libraries are not just collections of documents and books, they are conversations, they are convocations of people, ideas, and artifacts in dynamic exchange. Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities: they preserve and promote community memories; they provide mentors not only for the exploration of stored memory, but also for the creation of new artifacts of memory."
-"To a Temporary Place in Time" Dr Wendy Schultz www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/6.htm


Technology is great but I have issues with books being put online for folks to read. Shoot, if I get an email that is more than 3/4 of a page long, I print it out. I get headaches trying to read stuff on the computer, so I definitely would prefer to have a book in hand. Don't get me wrong, I love MySpace, Facebook, and a variety of other sites but I don't see how these sites and some of the other sites listed in the Learn & Play blog, would be used in the library. I'm sure librarians would use Flickr for programs or displays, but why would we need Bloglines or Twitter in the library? Well, I can see how Bloglines might be useful but Twitter in particular seems like a waste of time for library staff to be messing around with. I hope I'm understanding this but anyone is free to explain it to me if I'm wrong!