Library 2.0 is about “…putting human beings back in the information continuum…” Stephen Abram
Really?? When were humans ever out of the information continuum? What about teachers? What about parents? What about friends? What about librarians? What about readers? What about students? Even a card catalog represents human involvement in the information continuum.
Library 2.0 is “…a term that can be used to describe both physical and mindset changes that are occurring within libraries to make our spaces and services more user-centric and inviting. Others within the profession have asserted that libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly, and welcoming.” Thing 2: What is Web 2.0?
I tend to agree with those within the profession who have asserted that libraries have always been collaborative, customer friendly, and welcoming. Library 2.0 is just adapting to a decreasingly civilized and literate society. We do what we have to do in order to survive.
One question we have been asked to consider is this:
How has the Internet and the vast resource it can be affected your use of time at work and/or at home?
I waste a whole lot of time on the Internet that could be better spent in a myriad of thoughts and/or activities. That being said, it has wonderful, money saving communication tools and does afford quick access to reliable information, especially since I have been trained to search for it and not rely and Google’s first 10 hits/pages. I might also acknowledge that time wasted reading things on the Internet is time that I very likely would have wasted reading a real book or watching a movie.
Also, Wendy Schultz’s description of Library 4.0 is very close to my idea of heaven.
labibliotecaria 
Stephen Abram said,
February 7, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Humans (like info pros) in the information continuum declined when people could just put words in a search box and have a mathematical algorithm determine what their results should be. If that’s not less human I don’t know what is! Asking a computer instead of a human agent is less human no matter how you cut it. 2.0 technologies let us insert information professionals back into the the process when folks want to ask a human as well. With more than 99% of questions being asked online with no human involvement as an option, putting libraries into questions space that use 2.0 social tools like Facebook, IM, Skype, blog comments, etc. increases the impact of quality information seeking and response behaviours.
Cheers,
Stephen
labibliotecaria said,
February 7, 2009 at 8:02 pm
But didn’t humans create/compile/organize that information, even if it is presented electronically? People may be invisible, but they are still there.
6 Fingered Librarian said,
February 10, 2009 at 1:40 am
I can’t believe Stephen Abram commented on your blog. Is there a widget that notifies you every time someone blogs intelligently about something you said? I am very impressed.
labibliotecaria said,
February 10, 2009 at 1:50 am
I guess he did. I didn’t make that connection. And that would be a very cool widget indeed.