Week #6, Thing 15 -- Library 2.0

I found the NextSpace articles interesting reading. My favorite two were "Into a new world of librarianship" by Michael Stephens and "Away from the "icebergs"" by Rick Anderson. These two articles spoke more about what school libraries should be thinking about and doing than the other articles. The Horizon Report could also assist school librarians by informing them as to what is over the next hill. A prior Horizon Report indicated the emergence of social networking and now what are students asking for at school -- time to social network with their Myspace or Facebook accounts. Young adults are more talented than we notice -- check out a few social network accounts and you'll see what I mean -- they think differently about connections today than we did at their age. When I went to college the big decision wasn't what computer to buy, but what typewriter (yes, I know this dates me, but it also shows that we can accept change and we must).

The overwhelming, most important idea I gathered from reading all the articles was that libraries must include input from their patrons (for academic libraries this must include both staff patrons and student patrons). How should this be accomplished? At the district level or the site level, or perhaps both? It is, I have decided, past the time to begin these conversations.

Another idea that struck me while reading was the necessity to include Web 2.0 in libraries, even if only we provide access to VoiceThread or Technorati or that we provide a list of beneficial sites on a del.icio.us account for all patrons to use. Again, the time has past -- what are we as librarians going to do to catch up with these realities. Realities that will serve our patrons more fully, without these realities we will begin to under serve our patrons.

Teaching our patrons about Library 2.o and Web 2.0 was the other idea that seemed infused in all the articles. We must step up to the plate -- we must provide learning to our patrons in ways that serve them -- not the traditional way -- bring the class to the library and the librarian teaches a lesson (please don't misunderstand me -- this must continue to happen), but we must also begin to create teaching tools that serve the young Web 2.0 student. Perhaps it is an online video linked on the school web page about how to use databases or simply telling what services the library has to offer or perhaps it is a linked website with a MLA generator that enables today's students to work faster, smarter, and with more integrity.

Reading these articles can certainly be a start for discussing what Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 can do for us and our patrons. Library 2.o means for me; that I should be exploring ways to help my students learn about the Web 2.0 tools; that I should be holding discussions with staff and students about what they want the library to do for them; that I should begin now to redesign the library I serve; and it means provides as much connectivity and resources as I can possibly acquire for the library I serve.