Library 2.0 is a movement spawned by Web 2.0 – what others exist? According to this post, there are many, including Identity 2.0, Law 2.0, media 2.0, Advertising 2.0, and Democracy 2.0.
Better Update: Go figure. I post the update, check to make sure my update posted correctly, and find that everything’s ok again… so comments are working again.
update: for some odd reason, direct linking to this post and to comments is down for this post… bummer. If it doesn’t clear up soon, I might delete it and post again… we’ll see.
I have read Walt Crawford’s large piece on Libary 2.0; Jenny’s and John’s recent posts; and now Meredith’s latest post. Wow – for a term that’s been around maybe five months, there sure is A LOT of discussion going around about it!
Meredith, in her last post, says:
“And what Jenny Levine wrote about the “L2 opponents” who feel “confusion and fear” over Library 2.0 really surprised me. Jenny is a nice person, a rational person, and I was really surprised to see what looked line a line in the sand being drawn. I really hope that Library 2.0 isn’t a polarizing force in the blogosphere because we all need to continue sharing our good ideas and success stories.”
Walt says something similar: “I find it hard to look at the term and not see confrontation, but that’s me” (page 2 of his PDF).
I certainly can’t speak for Jenny (or anyone else in this conversation), but here’s what I saw at Internet Librarian 2005. Michael and I gave a couple of presentations on technology, staff, and training. At the end of the session, during the question-and-answer time, someone asked this question (swiping the wording from Michael’s post about it): “I’m not interested in new technology, and I don’t have time for it and i’m not one to play with technology..what about me?”
That was a hard question to answer for a number of reasons (and we did a fine job of it, too). But my point in drudging this up again is this: I don’t think Jenny is drawing lines in the sand. I don’t think the concept of Library 2.0 (however one defines it) is drawing lines in the sand. When I received that question, I wasn’t trying to draw any sort of line – I was simply talking about how to hire techie staff. Michael was talking about training those staff. No lines there… but lines are being drawn nonetheless.
Where are those lines coming from? Let me illustrate: The person that asked Michael and myself the question mentioned above had definitely drawn a line in the sand, one that basically says “I would really rather not learn anything new, but would still like to be a librarian.” I hear other questions when libraries are planning a “what’s new at the library” blog that start out with “why in the world would my library ever want to start something like that?” – I see a line drawn in the sand when I hear those types of statements.
What’s going on here? I think Library 2.0 is a library response to the larger social technology changes going on right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an Automotive 2.0, a Psychiatrist 2.0, or a Teacher 2.0 (update – see my short post on this). Some librarians are noticing the change and are trying to figure out how libraries can capture the good stuff of Web 2.0 and use it to further serve our patrons. They have added a library-centric name to a larger concept that is appearing in our libraries, in our cities, and in the world at large (check Howard Rheingold’s blog for some of those mentions).
And yes – some individuals who don’t “do change well” are probably not doing well right now with current technology changes. But then, my guess is those types of people have ALWAYS drawn lines in the sand, and will continue to do so. A worthy goal for libraries and librarians should be to embrace those staff members and help them along the sometimes rocky road to change.
Who’s with me?
Anyone else seen these signs around your community? I actually took a few pics (see them here, here, here, here, and here).
AT&T is doing some large publicity thing with billboards touting words like Productivity, Blogging, etc… The others are same-ole-same-ole marketing billboards, but the blogging one – I think it’s pretty cool!
Why is it cool? How many people drive by those billboards every day … how many will wonder “hmm – what IS blogging, anyway?” … how many will check it out… etc.
I think 2006 will be a VERY interesting year for online services, indeed!
The Tahlequah Daily Press (a newspaper in Oklahoma) used of my library’s Subject Guide articles as a source for one of their articles! How cool is that?
But even cooler – this is one example of what happens when you put original content out on the web. Your content might just get used.
Hopefully the first of many posts on video! We have created an Emotional Health article for our library website. The article includes quick facts on stress and tips on getting organized, all found in one of our library databases. And, we also included a link to my last videocast about my messy desk. Why? It fits the article and it lends the article a bit of humor, too.
So that’s a start, anyway. What else can one do with video on a library website?
Am I leaving anything out? Let me know!
1. Use your Ecommerce Software’s [ILS System's] Default Layout. Ouch! A large percentage of us libraries use the default layout. When we get brave, we add our logo image and maybe change a color or two.
We really need to customize the ILS we bought with our taxpayer’s/students/patron’s hard-earned money so it’s usable for our customers, don’t you think? And if we can’t do it, well then – we should expect our vendor to do it for us.
2. Don’t use thumbnails. SIRSI adds Syndetics info, which includes thumbnails of materials. So much nicer, especially when our competition is Amazon – at least it’s a step in the right direction.
4. Don’t smooth the Checkout Process. Sometimes this is easy for us, sometimes not. Make sure your ILS is easy to use when customers want to place a hold on an item. ANd make sure you’re using the most appropriate words, phrases and descriptions for your customers, too (ie., do your customers understand what “placing a hold” really means?).
5. Ignore the Market you’re “Targeting.” Who’s your target audience? Kids? If so, can they use your ILS system made for adults? Etc, etc, etc. Think about ways to help your target audiences find what they’re looking for.
8. Completely leave out Product Descriptions. Compare The Hobbit in your ILS system to The Hobbit at Amazon. Most likely, your version has author, title, subject headings, a call number, and (egad) a MARC record. Amazon, on the other hand, has all the normal ILS stuff (except for the MARC record, which they really don’t need), plus pictures, a “look inside this book” preview, customer tagging, reviews from publishers, and reviews from other customers.
Do you see a difference?
10. Never post your Address or Phone Number. What happens when a search leads to nothing in your ILS? In my library’s ILS, this phrase appears “… found no matches in the library you selected.” And then a search box is displayed so the customer can re-do their search. That’s well and good, but let’s go one further. Let’s add our email/chat/IM/telephone reference contact info there, too. This way, a frustrated customer can go one further – and you have just added some positiveness to an otherwise negative customer experience.
Very cool indeed… especially since I’m starting work on a new version of our staff intranet, complete with blogging ability, too. I’d love to see more library intranets – anyone?
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