Many have argued that the notion of Library 2.0 is more than just a term used to describe concepts that revolve around the use of technology; it is also a term that can be used to describe both physical and mindset changes that are occurring within libraries to make our spaces and services more user-centric and inviting. Others within the profession have asserted that libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly, and welcoming. But no matter which side of the debate you fall on, just about everyone agrees that libraries of tomorrow, even five or ten years from now, will look substantially different from libraries today. 23 Things On a Stick can help you get ready to participate in the changes!
1. Watch this video. Stephen Abram kicks off 23 Things at Murdoch University Library in Australia.
2. Read this blog post by John Blyberg, a library blogger from Connecticut.
2. The latest on Library 2.0 is in Library Technology Reports, Volume 43 Issue 5. Read this article "The Ongoing Web Revolution". (The full volume can be found via ELM; click on Vol. 43, Issue 5 and go to the article.)
Resources
These articles offer more views on Web 2.0 and libraries:
- OCLC Next Space Newsletter – Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web take libraries? Five Perspectives:
- Wikipedia – Library 2.0
Here are some ideas to blog about--but don't let these questions limit you. Share all your thoughts, ideas, and discoveries.
- We know time is always an issue--Stephen Abram shares some ideas on where to find the time for 23 Things. Where will you find the time?
- Why are you participating in 23 Things On a Stick? What do you hope to learn?
- How has the Internet and the vast resource it can be affected your use of time at work and/or at home?
- Where are you in your knowledge and use of Web 2.0 tools? How about your library?
- What are you looking forward to in 23 Things On a Stick?
26 comments:
The ELM link does not work.
I can't get the movie to play.
You might not be able to watch the movie because you don't have the latest Shockwave downloaded. That was a problem on my work computer last year when I tried to watch a video. Here's what you might need:
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/
I am finding l2 interesting. I taught in a private school for 30 years and after that ran a history center for 7 1/2 years and it seems that I really never picked up the sliis that quite a few of you have with all this new technology, so for me this is an adventure and at the same time like walking through a maze. It would be helpful if everyone was not so in to acronyms or if there was a list to refer too. If it wasn't for talking to others in the libray I would be lost. I believe that I am to literal. I was taught and learned that you follow the direction, in the right order and things should work. I am finding with technology that is not true. Some people take that in stride and seem to know a way to backdoor it. Maybe I'll learn how to do that but for now it frustrates me.
With all of the info I read in this "Thing" I can't help but reflect on how education always seemed to have a new way to do things- they came and went. We learned about them and in awhile something new was all the rage. I will be curios if this works the same.
L2 is exciting, yet also frightening at the same time. It is in my opinion the future for libraries and we do need to move forward into the world of the World Wide Web.
I agree with smiling stephanie. This is all a little overwhelming but also a challenge. I think like everything else in the world when progress is made we should learn about it and use it. Libraries are no exception and if we are to keep up with new technology then Web 2.0 is something we need to explore, use and keep pace with for our own benefit as well as our patrons.
Perhaps the most challenging aspects of Web 2.0 tools is determining what exactly is and will be the role of such tools in the emerging new model of social communication?
For anyone interested, I've published a number of articles and column on Web 2.0 in schools and school media centers. These include:
Rules for the Social Web
Librarians 2.0
Blogging and the School Library Media Specialist
I am finding the idea encouraging. I feel the library, like a business, should be customer-centric. L2 seems to agree with that. I see it, however, as a step outside the comfort level of many.
The Web 2.0 tools and way of thinking are invigorating and could be very useful to our patrons (and ourselves).
Thank you, Donovan, for the link to Webopedia - I'm going to put it on my blog.
While I am excited about all that the Library 2.0 initiative has to offer, I know that the bottom line will be MONEY! As the sole Librarian for a small community college, I am constantly battling to keep the Library "space" from being parced out for other purposes, to keep my one assistant at full-time status, and to be funded enough money to do the basic resource purchases. I can forsee that, once again, the smaller libraries will be left in the dust as new technologies become the commonplace in bigger, better funded libraries.
I am going to MAKE myself find time for this program. I will just give up a couple of the computer games I play to clear my mind several times a day. The "23 Things" program forces me to step beyond my comfort zone.
For years I have been using the internet on a daily basis, but only within a vary narrow focus.
L2 will teach me to embrace the larger application and once learned, I believe it will prove to be invaluable to me.
Our local library is very "cutting edge" but may face an uphill battle in re-educating many of other individuals in the community who like me, who become too comfortable with the status quo. And also with the many who believe that libraries are only repostitories for books!
ELM didn't work for me, was able to view the video. Too bad this all takes so long
The Elm link worked today, but it took you to the whole Journal, so you still had to locate the correct article. Robin Suhsen
How do we sustain the parallel worlds of virtual library and physical library. We have patrons for both venues. How do we support with funding? How do make bridges and connections?
Wow. It's a lot to take in, but I think the move to a more interactive, relevant library is like a freight train coming down the tracks. I don't know how we would stop it even if we wanted to.
Budget constraints and concerns are pushing us toward L2, as well as other reasons mentioned. Before that dollar is spent, there should definitely be some user input.
And that's another thing, isn't it interesting that we are referring to our patrons more and more as "users"? It's also a friendlier term I think, and more in the vernacular of the day. "Patron" sounds more like professional library jargon perhaps.
I am starting a Word document with some of the quotes and citations from what I have read so far, so I don't forget these wonderful gems that will help bring me and any library I am working in more in line with L2.0.
I have to disagree about our terms for those who frequent the library. We have switched (very officially) from Patrons to Customers, and I and many others feel that this is too bad. In my mind, Customers are paying for a service, while Patrons are choosing to support an institution. User always makes me think of drug user, which I guess says more about the society I live in than the term itself. The public library is supported by tax dollars, so certainly some of our clientele are paying (indirectly, so indirectly that they often don't seem to make the connection), but we serve everyone, regardless of ability to pay. What does a typical customer get without putting cash on the table? Ok, you can see this is a hot spot for me!
I really appreciated the point that was made in the video about how it's a matter of setting our priorities. There is definitely time to do this - if I make it a priority. My biggest problem is that I am having a good time and could spend hours doing this - not just 15 minutes a day!
- Wendy
This blog stuff is a bit overwhelming for me, since I hate the computer, but I know that I need to get over it and get with it. The video made many good points about the upcoming changes in library science. I, for one, am not comfortable with all these changes in technology, but it does help me to access information faster.
I am excited about the integration of L2 and the physical library. As an academic librarian at a very small private school, my main concern is not in meeting the students needs but in helping to educate the faculty so that they are comfortable with the changes which have begun and will continue to come.
tbc23 is right. It really needs to be student driven and not where faculty's comfort-zone is presently. I really am looking at our library changing and me as well. It seems there is an awefully lot to learn and keep updated about.
Libraries have been evolving since they were created. When libraries first started, people memorized long passages because the ability to mass produce information was non-existent. With the invention of the printing press, this need became less important. Now with the internet at our fingertips, we no longer need to memorize much of anything because we can look it up within seconds.
When we consider what Web 2.0 is, we have to consider that term encompasses many things. That doesn’t mean that everything Web 2.0 must be used in a library, but we must consider who our users are and what their preferences will be.
Many library users today have never known a time when there wasn’t a computer. They have grown up using the Web 2.0 technology some tend to want to dismiss as unnecessary in our field. The reality is, when I take my kids to the library, my six year-old heads to the computer station first to play the latest Arthur game, and my 11 year-old checks out the computer software. Once that desire has been satisfied, they head to the books.
I believe that Web 2.0 technology incorporated into library services will draw in the younger, computer savvy users (who are, or will eventually be, taxpayers and voters). EBSCO’s new 2.0 interface is just one example. It makes research feel less intimidating when it blends a user friendly interface with the functions users expect for research.
Major challenge from my view....trying to figure out what to invest time in and try to implement after learning what's possible, then implementing something really valuable. Finding time to do "23 Things on a Stick" is just the tip of the iceberg.
The problem is not finding the time, it is making the time. I didn't finish the 23 Things the first round, and now I am totally committed to finishing. Everything from this day forward is so engrained in technology you either have to embrace it or watch it pass you by.
Thing #2---It was good to see that ther eis a push for Library 2>0 to be more than just a technological shift, but a mind shift as well for library services. There are many untapped avenues to increase library sevices and Library 2.0's vision is a huge one that is underutilized. Many media specialists are overworked, underpaid, and have little time to learn much less facilitate this concept in the library. Thanks for giving us a free opportunity to learn. My blog I am using for 23 things is at lahammer@edublogs.org. I am responding for thing 2.
15 minutes a day while at work is feasible but I wonder who has time to read everyone else's blogs! I don't have a lot of extra time. The author admits he finds IM addicting as well as practical. The addiction part is true with other technology, such as cell phones. A lot of people are constatnly attached to their cell phones, feeling like they will miss something. I don't want to be that addiction to cell phones or IM, but I think IM could be useful at work. The internet has changed most of our lives in a vast way. When I began working as a reference librarian, we only looked for information in printed materials. Now we often find the answers very quickly on the internet, and verify sources. We correspond daily through email. At the internet makes it possible to look up general information, shop, make travel reservations, correspond, etc. A lot less time is spent doing business on the phone. I am looking forward to finding out what some of the technology I've heard about means.
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