Thing2 - Perspectives

This question of where we are at/what Library 2.0 means to the current library structure has been a very important (and beneficial) one to me in the past couple of weeks. I have been interviewing for new jobs and I believe my participation in this program and thinking/learning about Library 2.0 played a big part in my receiving those offers.

The job that I ended up taking has the added benefit of being a school which will be building a brand new facility within the next three years. Hence, the new librarian (me) will have the opportunity to help design the new media center. Because of this, many of the interviewing questions revolved around the concept of "the library of the future" and what it might look like. Now, I admitted up front that if I knew EXACTLY what the library of the future (LOF) would look like - I would be a genius (or at least an oracle), however, I did talk about how the LOF would be a source of information which could not/should not be limited to within four walls. Rather, it would be a physical holding of printed resources along with an electronic/web-based network which would allow patrons to access things from wherever they are.

You always hear people say that libraries will soon be obsolete, that the WWW is all we as a society need for information - that is ridiculous. The fact that the web is home to much more information than a traditional library could ever hope to house makes the need for organizing and helping patrons find their way through all of it even more important. Just because it is possible for a student to find just about anything they may want or need on the web, that doesn't mean that they will be able to do so. In my opinion, the need for a knowledgable/helpful librarian is even MORE important now than ever.

I will admit, I am looking at this from a school librarians point of view - but I think the basic idea applies to public libraries as well. The web is definitely becoming more and more user friendly, but there still needs to be some sort of organizational setup to help novice users find what it is they are looking for - that setup will come from the library.

This is a very exciting time for libraries, and I am very excited to be a part of it. I see this "23 Things" program as being a huge benefit to me as I learn how to use/incorporate blogs, wikis, etc. in my own job as a high school librarian. I know that it will make my three summer break months a bit busier than they have been in the past and that my golf game may suffer (if that is even possible the way I play), but I really think that what I am embarking on here is extremely important and could prove to be very fun as well.