Week 6, Thing 15

Web 2.0 & libraries
I have been hearing about Web 2.0 for a few years now. It is really affecting libraries and is part of our need to adapt to new technologies and new tools. Web 2.0 is very pervasive. It is part of our personal and professional lives.

I feel like I am only slightly connected to it. I don't use social networks like FaceBook or MySpace -- I do have an account on one of them which I started in order to get in contact with one of my pages a few years ago when the phone numbers I had didn't work. But I have done little with it (I have thought about trying to create a Technical Services page and using that but haven't taken the time to do it yet).

However, web 2.0 is very important in the Next Generation catalog, something I am very concerned about. We need to have an online catalog that appeals to our patrons and especially to those who are using the internet. We also need to be responsive and use the web 2.0 tools for all sorts of things. We need to find ways to integrate them into various aspects of the library.

I have seen the Library learning 2.0 program AKA 23 Things AKA O! What a Geek as being one way to get OPL staff learning and using some of the tools. I am hoping that people will realise that some of the tool they might use in the personal lives can be used professionally too. And use them more. And teach others of us how to use them.

I also found Annette Lamb's keynote speech at NLA/NEMA on Thursday, October 16 -- Recipes for Success to be very useful to introduce even more web 2.0 tools and more importantly, how to use them in libraries of all sorts. There is much to think about there and how we might use them. I hope we can follow up on using these.