Thing 15--Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

First off, I have to say that the terms Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 seem just plain silly.  The very terminology belies the idea that this is a conversation taking place among technology innovators.  Instead, the concepts sound like the invention of non-techie, technology-awe-inspired people--which describes (or has described) many librarians.  I don't think that people truly involved in the world of innovation and technology would use terms that seem so imitative of programmer jargon.  So, there's that.

Now to the specific perspective included in the Next Space newlsetter and how they compare with my experience as a librarian.  I think the perspectives I read are relevant on a big-picture, long-term planning level.  In my time at MCPL I've seen great examples that MCPL administrators are thinking about these issues and improving the ways we reach customers beyond bricks and mortar and books on shelves--our virutal services department, our excellent website, the efforts to implement a books-by-mail program, innovative integration of and linking to outside information.  All of these are absolutely necessary for a library system that plans to stay relevant into the future.

BUT, the experience of working in a small branch library is an entirely different thing, and one that convinces me that concepts like Web and Library 2.0 are far from my daily customers' minds. 

Aspen Hill Library has two very identifiable core customer groups--young families and senior citizens.  Although children enjoy the games on our Early Literacy Station and our seniors are sometimes pleasantly surprised when something they want can be acquired for them electronically, neither of these are why they come to the library.  When their children are young is a time that many adults rediscover the library after staying away for years after high school or college.  They want to sit on our colorful rugs and read to their children.  They want their kids to come to storytime, to be able to do puzzles and play games, to explore our dizzying array of attractive children's books, and to build up the courage to learn how to ask the librarian a question.  And even better, once their kids go off to school, many of these parents keep coming back to the library, having become reacquainted with what a wonderful place it is! 

Our senior citizens want books: old books, new books, bestseller books, book club books, large type books, books on cd, all kinds of books.  They want to look at the Consumer Reports buying guides and investment information, and many of them, though by no means all, do NOT want to learn how to use computers.  With their years of life experience they realize that there are very few books they actually need to own, but they still want to read, and recognize the library for the amazingly valuable, staple-of-democracy resource that it is.  They also want to talk to a person, a person who listens, a person who genuinely wants to help them find the resources that they seek.  Sometimes they don't really need anything in particular and just want a familiar-looking place to go and some brief, pleasant contact with another human being.

It will be a long while (30 years? 40 years?) between now and when the people who were raised primarily with books and not technology pass on.  I am 41, and although pretty tech-literate and not at all technology-shy, I fall quite definitely into that cohort.  What libraries will be like--or if they will be physically at all--when the generation that has been familiar with computers since infancy hits its prime, I cannot say.  But until then, I think that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 enthusiasts may be getting a bit carried away.  We have a vital customer base, people who, yes, want to use our computers and want all the bells and whistles that technology has to offer, but who also want a  place--a sort of "third place," to use Starbucks terminology.  Some only want the place and the books, some only want the technology, and most, perhaps, want a mix.  But it is way too soon to toss out the place concept and the physical books model in favor of a vaguely defined futuristic model of which we don't yet know how to accurately conceive.

Thing 14 substitution--Google Books

After not getting anywhere for too long with the links on Technorati, I started looking for a substitute thing to do for thing 14.  Although I originally went looking for Google Labs, which was listed on the 43 things list, I stumbled upon Google Books, which looks really exciting, and especially relevant for libraries.   Here is a link explaining a lot of it in more detail than I can here http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/.  In essence, out-of-print, out-of-copyright books are searchable and sometimes readable in full on Google books, an invaluable resource for people whose interests go beyond the current bestseller lists.  Also, with library funding dwindling, which is making it more and more difficult to replace damaged, worn copies of older books, this could prove to be very, very useful.  It sounds like they are expanding access to other sorts of books too, which, if handled properly with respect for intellectual property rights, would certainly be a boon to libraries.  For high school students, who are very comfortable with reading online, this could be great when they need to read a classic at the last minute and all the library's copies are checked out.  Another use for works they have access to, such as Shakespeare's, is to search for a line of part of a line that you remember but can't remember which play, or part of the play it's from.  They also have access to back issues of all kinds of magazines, which makes physical preservation of these fragile media something libraries will have to sweat out less.  In addition, you can use "my library" on Google Books to build a list of books you've read and/or liked, post reviews, etc.  I don't have time at the moment to delve more deeply into Google Books, but I'd say it's a promising resource for libraries, librarians, and book-lovers of all stripes.