a space for grace

Spent a lot of time reading and thinking this week about what Library 2.0 means.  For me the 2 represents two-way, as in two way communication between the library and its patrons, customers, clients or users. The communication allows the library to be responsive in providing resources and services its community wants.  This is not new, but it is one way of thinking that is becoming perhaps more popular than providing resources that the Library thinks its community needs.  I quote, “But as with other librarians, BYU’s librarians struggle with the age-old question: Is what patrons ask for what they really need?” (Whitchurch & Belliston (2006). “Information Commons at Brigham Young University: past, present and future.” Reference Services Review, Vol.34, no. 2, p.269.)

For many people 2.0 represents the second iteration of the internet, new technology that allows users to create, share and contribute to an online conversation. Library 2.0 uses this new technology as another method, in addition to the traditional comment cards, face-to-face chats and surveys to allow the user to actively contribute to the library site, the catalog and make suggestions.  Many libraries have embraced 2.0 and have created blogs and taggable catalogs.  But even though the avenues are there, and easier to use than ever, the community doesn’t seem to be embracing this way of interacting with the library. In their book, Library 2.0, published in 2007, Casey and Savistinuk cite examples of 10 blogs  at Darien Public Library, and two years later there is only one left. Ann Arbor District Library’s Directors blog has an earnest discussion in progress about major cuts to library funding, but of 31 comments there are only 15 unique contributers. And this is by far the most commented on post. 

The idea of 2.0 and being open and responsive to your customers is worthwhile. Social media tools can provide a great way to foster communication and make it easy for anyone to voice their opinion or contribute. The trick is to attract participants and encourage people to get involved.

Going through this week’s discovery excercise I was already quite familiar with  iGoogle, delicious, and Twitter.  I set up an iGoogle tab with RSS feeds of all my 559 classmates blogs and I love it! It looks great – you can see the most recent three headlines from every blog laid out in its own box and they all sit together on one page under the tab 559 Social Media.  If my computer weren’t so technically challenged I’d post a screenshot for you.

To learn something new, and for purposes of comparison, I thought I’d set up a Bloglines account. Lo and behold, when I entered my email I already had one. But I couldn’t remember the password, so I started fresh with a different email. I have to say the Bloglines experience wasn’t as good for me, perhaps this is why I abandoned it in the first place – I have a list of the 559 blogs under My Feeds, but it was not nearly as intuituve to set up as iGoogle and I only see the title and number of posts, no headlines. For attractiveness and ease of use my vote goes to iGoogle. As an information professional it’s valuable to know about the benefits and constraints of these different current awareness tools because it’s something you can educate your clients about, via individual consultation or group workshops. In fact I think that is where I set up my Bloglines account – in a drop-in Web 2.0 workshop that was given by a BCIT Librarian. She has made quite a reputation for herself at BCIT as a 2.0 authority and bolstered the library’s credibility as well.

Twitter is a great tool for pushing information out to people. The information professional can let followers know what resources and services they offer. In an age when so many of our offerings are virtual they need to promoted because without a  physical presence they can easily be overlooked, or lost in the abundance of virtual information. Our library has used Twitter primarily as a marketing tool (twitter.com/bcitlib) promoting our hours, workshops, new titles, websites of interest and contests, etc. However I can see there is an opportunity to track and contribute to Twitter conversations about an organization and it’s  projects.

So my 8 year old daughter has been begging for a Nintendo DS because she’s “the only one in my class who doesn’t have one” …
Well, I know this isn’t true for one thing, and for another, I don’t think you have to spend a lot of money on games and toys (when she was just a toddler she spent a lot of time playing with empty yogurt containers) and I hate to think of spending that much on a game that’s maybe not going to get played with very much a month from now. Plus I worry about kids getting too much screen time and not enough nature time. So this is why I kept saying no.
Then she came home with her Scholastic book order forms from school and one of them featured all computer, gameboy, WII and DS titles, and the pleading started again.
When she said, “what if I buy it myself” I relented – because she has money saved from Christmases and birthdays passed, and from doing some odd jobs, like watering the plants and feeding the cat while neighbours were away. So I agreed that would be okay.
What an exciting morning it was as I brought her to purchase her DS and a game to play on it. She bought it, charged it up and started playing that afternoon.
Before bed she said to me, “Thanks for letting me get it, because, you know everyone is talking about their electronic games and stuff and I could only stand there I didn’t have anything to say. I couldn’t join in the conversation.”
And, that long winded story was to say that, I think that is the best reason for libraries, and for anyone, to be participating in social media – so they know what is going on – with the tools, and what is being said with the tools, and they can join in the conversation.

One of the best things about working in a library is getting to browse the new titles as they come in.  This one caught my eye right away and is on my to read list: 

The dumbest generation: how the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (or, don’t trust anyone under 30) / by Mark Bauerlein

Interesting that, in the author’s view,  the tools that offer us so much knowledge and opportunity have become primarily  a timewasting form of superficial communication for the younger generation. Speaking of superficial – did I mention I haven’t read it yet? But I will, and will report back again when I do.

In the meantime, I found this YouTube interview with Bauerlein:

Bauerlein – Young Americans are the Dumbest Generation

Thoughts?

I don’t know what the problem is, but I find with all types of social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs), once I’m up and running I feel a pressure to post and my mind goes blank….

Just created this blog and it was quite quick and painless! Hope the rest of this Lib 559M course offers such immediate gratification.