Library 2.0?

I am not fond of the phrase "Library 2.0." It suggests that libraries and librarians haven’t changed much in 2,000+ years. I suppose some librarians are still using library hand to write catalog cards, but probably not many. Okay, that may not be fair, but I would rather think of libraries as always moving forward and librarians as innovators who are willing to try new ways of providing services, communicating with customers, and collaborating with others in (and out) of the library world. The phrase “Library 2.0” does not evoke the image of the continual evolution of libraries throughout time.

Discussions about the current era in librarianship focuses on how new technology will change the way we do what we do. The discussion includes a lot disagreement about whether or not the new technology is a good thing. These discussions and disagreements are not new. Technology has provided us with a lot of new tools in the past-- telephones, microforms, computers (remember the old Hollerith cards?). I am sure that many of these were pretty controversial at the time. I can just imagine what was being said when someone suggested putting phones in the library. It seems to me, that we have always been on alert for ways in which technology can move libraries forward. We decide which tools we should use and how we should use them (hopefully, based on customer need and not just our perception of what customers' need).

Not all the new technology is something that will be used in the library, but it is still worth knowing about. Flickr may not be used as an everyday tool, but it could be incorporated into programs -- a library workshop on genealogy might include a discussion on the use of Flickr to share old family photographs, or as a space to post pictures from a photo contest for young adults.

All this discussion of library 2.0, reminds me of an old Gershwin Song "...the radio and the telephone and the movies that we know they're just passing fancies and in time may go." (Our Love is here to Stay) Your guess is as good as mine as to what will last and what won't -- who knows we may be instant messaging with our customers for years to come.