Monday, October 27, 2008
The essence of Library 2.0
The way the week is going, I thought I'd best break down this assignment. Tonight I read Meredith Farkas article, and the comments back and forth. I appreciated her thoughts on technology and libraries, and I especially agree with her comments about the need to assess, and reassess, in order to provide our clients with what they want, not to show off the latest bells and whistles.
As she says, "I know libraries can feel like technology is passing them by when they see all this cool stuff other libraries are doing, but if you’re focused on the needs and wants of your service population (including people in your community who don’t use the library), you shouldn’t worry."
Those of us taking this course are learning a lot about web2.o. I wouldn't be surprised if my fellow RWLers would agree that many of these tools, though impressive, wouldn't get used by our clients. The people who want to interact with me come into the branch. It also takes time and effort to maintain these new additions.
Thought provoking, and worth further discussion. YZ
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree Yvonne. There is no use in creating a bunch of tool and sticking them to our website. We need to find out where the greatest online need is and develop a tool around it. Hopefully, through this course and the subsequent discussion, we will find out what the community needs!
It also seems that there are more people moving to the rural areas from the cities, which is driving connectivity in the country up. Which is great. Maybe there is something to that......?
I agree that it makes little sense to implement all these tools into your library system, especially if the majority of your patrons are highly unlikely to want/ use them. I do think it’s important to be aware of what is out there, especially if you try to sway youngsters (teens specifically) back to the library. And now if anyone does come in asking for these types of web2.0 tools, you will hopefully feel comfortable and confident exploring the tools they suggest.
Jenny.
Post a Comment