Week 6, Thing #15 The Future of Libraries

I decided to take this class because I felt like I had fallen behind in the technology world. I didn't know what RSS or del.icio.us were referring to, when I came upon them. I was afraid that if I didn't catch up, in 20 or 30 years I'd be like my mother who can't figure out how to reset her microwave clock when the power goes off. I figured it was too early to start falling behind.

When I read the article from OCLC, it confirmed what I'd been thinking, you really can't afford to fall behind in something that is affecting so many parts of our lives. Web 2.0 is the center of a new digital lifestyle that changes our culture and touches every aspect of our lives. It drives everything we do. I actually knew that - I keep my laptop on the kitchen table and whenever I need to know anything, a substitution for buttermilk, or what time the movie starts, or how to get somewhere, I find it readily. I just hadn't quite put it into those words for myself.

The concept of the Icebergs definitely raised some interesting points. I was especially interested in the just in case library collection. Luckily, I work in an elementary school library and it is still very necessary to have books on anything and everything because you can never anticipate what budding young learners will need a book about. I very much enjoy buying just in case books and I'm always thrilled when someone is excited by them. However, I can see that secondary school librarians aren't compelled today to have something about everything.

Another iceberg of interest was the idea that the services need to be fixed, not our patrons. I often am frustrated with our online catalog that requires students to spell authors or tiles or subject correctly, otherwise it looks like we don't have what they are looking for. One could say that perhaps they will learn to spell better this way, but in fact, they just assume we don't have it. I think in this case the service needs to be fixed. Couldn't there be a message, Google does it, saying Did you mean ...

I was wondering how Library 2.0 would affect elementary school libraries, other than in research, since in the younger grades, the book is really the attraction. In Christopher Harris's article in SLJ ( May 2006), Say good-bye to your mother's library, he makes a number of suggestions, such as using LibraryThing.com, blogs and podcasts to facilitate book discussions and booktalks. I was glad when he said,
the heart of the concept, though, is not about the tools, but rather the communities and the conversations that they make possible. He also feels that the flexible vs. fixed schedule debate will come to an end in Library 2.0 as services extend beyond the walls (if you have them, I don't) of the library. He has a number of great ideas and I highly recommend his article.