Thing 2 - Is Library 2.0 for Real?

I've heard of Library 2.0, spawned from Web 2.0, but I'd never seen it shortened to L2. The world has gone crazy with making everything shorter, JLo, Brangelina, <3, idk, etc. Mostly I find it annoying, can't people just spell correctly? Are you so busy that writing '2' for 'to' is really saving you that much time? I digress. However, I do think L2 is kinda cute. I think it is quite laughable that people think L2 is a trend, a passing fancy. Its here and you can't stop it, so you better get with the program.

Saying that I'm all for technology to a point. I love that my library has downloadable books to put on your MP3 player, that we have Digital books so you just add a AAA battery and headphones and you've got a story to go. I love love love our databases and the mounds of fabulous information they contain, I just wish they got used more. I get to participate in AskALibrarian once a month on a Tuesday morning. Some days I'm swamped with questions, other days I get time to tackle the piles on my desk. Our Headquarters library does email reference and sometimes forwards questions to my branch. I think its great that you can look things up on our catalog, put them on hold, renew your books, and see where you are in line for Twilight, all from the comfort of you home. Email has saved the library so much money. We just shoot you an automatic message that your book is ready to be picked up, or oops you forgot to return that new John Grisham novel. Basically, when it works, technology rocks!

However, that's not why I love being a Librarian, its not why I became one. Yes I get frustrated on a continual basis with our patrons, there are some that make me cringe when they walk through our doors, but on the whole I love them. I love helping people find information. Patrons come to us with millions of different problems, questions, concerns, and queries. From I just found out I have cancer and want to learn more about what I should expect, to my daughter is having trouble potty-training, to my son is in jail in Georgia and I need a map and directions to visit him, to I've lost my job and need to make a resume and apply for jobs online, to just plain old I need a good mystery to read. People come to us for help, they know they can't do it alone. The library is one place in your community you can go to get help, when you don't know who to go to. I love that face to face contact with my patrons and I'm pretty sure from their comments, that they love it too.

I agree with that we need to continue Library 1.0 but also bring in 2.0. Many people love all the technology we offer, but I often hear, why can't you bring back the old card catalog, I knew how to use that. I've seen people pick up a mouse like a remote, point it at a computer screen and click, expecting something to happen. I agree with Blyberg about changing the way we think, allocating monies differently, and hiring people who can compute but also interact with people. I'm just afraid that we may get ahead of ourselves. I find that many government agencies and businesses have done this by only being accessible through the Internet. You can't get food stamps with out filling out forms online, you can't call and make an appointment to update your green card, you have to schedule that online, you can't type a resume and send it in, you have to attach it to your application online. Online, online, online! No wonder people crave human contact so much, with all this being online, who has time for relationships anymore. Wait you can do that online too! Internet dating, chat rooms, IM, oh my!

I am excited to learn about these 23 Things. I've heard of about 2/3 of them. I follow several blogs, have a MySpace account which I rarely use, and a Facebook account I use often. The rest haven't had an opportunity or desire to interact with. So here's my chance. I'm excited, will probably get frustrated and wanted to smack my computer along the way, but in the end I'll have learned some stuff, and that's always a good 'thing'.