Thing 15

Question-How many librarians does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer- Three. One to change the light bulb, and three the say “That’s not how we use to change the light bulb!”

I enjoyed reading Rick Anderson’s Away from the “Iceberg.” Although there are many librarians and library employees who enjoy how computers and the information age has change how the library’s function, there are many who long for the old days and old ways. With the coming of the digital age and the introduction of Google, the way patrons use the library has changed, when searching for a reference question more people prefer to look something up on a computer than use a book.

When Mr. Anderson states, “the time has come for us to look skeptically at the very idea of a library “collection.” He talks about the just in case reference materials the library spend a lot of money on, and how many of these print materials are now available in a digital form. Libraries many enjoy seeing these reference books lining the shelves, but many of the patrons want the information at their finger tips.

The author makes a good point when he asks what the library’s role in educating the public should be. As technology becomes more and more important in how the library and the public in general functions, which side of the digital dived they are located on may well determine an individual’s future. The library can offer free access to the internet and some free classes, but the internet itself must continue to make itself more and more user friendly.

Libraries no longer have a monopoly of information, instead of longing for the old days today’s libraries can embrace the information age and work with the new technology to make the library experience better than ever.

What does Web 2.0 mean to me? On the one hand all the things we have learned in this exercise show how informative, interesting and fun Web 2.0 can be. We can do things and connect with each other in ways that we never dreamed of in the past. On the other hand everything we do on Web 2.0 leaves a trail and each connection we make makes our person lives less and less private. But I guess Web 2.0 is like everything else in the world, you have to take the good with the bad.