Task : Crystal Ball

The task was to read these opinions by librarians regarding the future of Web 2.0 and the impact on libraries and discuss it. I read it. And now I'll discuss it.

The idea that most strikes me about the challenge that Web 2.0 brings to libraries is that it really forces our profession to look closely at our core values and purpose and to determine how valuable we can continue to be as these huge shifts in the availability of information become available. While Rick Anderson challenges the value of even continuing to build up a physical collection of materials, I do believe that the importance of the library as a physical space and the act of patrons being able to physically get their hands on works will continue far, far into our future. Given the huge scope of material out there, it just will not be possible for it all to ever be scanned and made available online. However, I do agree with his proposition (and Michael Stephens, and Chip Nilges, and John Reimer) that we need to reassess our contribution in terms of what value we bring to making that information accessible to patrons.

It's been my experience, as a user of libraries and now as a librarian, that libraries tend to be very resistent to adapting our ports of user access to what user's actually express that they would like. Let's set aside the fact that we should be as concerned with aesthetics and useability for our websites as commercial ventures are (honestly, can you fault a patron who doesn't understand library jargon for not being able to find what they need on our sites?) It's clear from the success of sites like Amazon, GoodReads and LibraryThing, that users like generic keyword searching, tagging, visual cues, reader reviews, and suggestions for additional sources. Why not incorporate these features into our existing OPACs? We say that we value libraries as a source of "community", well, these are all features that would help to build up an online community centered around our own library collections. I especially love John Reimer's idea of adding the geographic coordinates into catalog records so that a user could search using a visual map for all items regarding a specific location. What a fantastic idea!

Up until this article, I had really been struggling to see the possibilities of Web 2.0 for any aspects of library work other than reference. I had definitely been able to the possibilities that it holds for incorporating it into bibliographic instruction and outreach. But here are ideas that really go to the heart of what we do - providing access to information for people in a meaningful way. I think that the struggle that we face as a profession is understanding what "meaningful" currently is and possibly will be in the future.