Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thing #15

From Away from the "icebergs":

There was a time, not very long ago, when libraries exercised something close to monopoly power in the information marketplace. During the print era, if you wanted access to pricey indexes or a collection of scholarly journals, you had no choice but to make a trip to the library.[...] In the post-print era, libraries no longer have the monopoly power that they had in the days before the Internet. We have to be a bit more humble in the current environment, and find new ways to bring our services to patrons rather than insisting that they come to us—whether physically or virtually.

I thought this was a very good summary of the situation libraries find themselves in today. The idea that libraries have to actually seek out their patrons now is a completely different way of thinking. Web 2.0 technology is the way to do this.


From Into a new world of librarianship:

the future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume and create content. Content is a conversation as well and librarians should participate. Users will create their own mash ups, remixes and original expressions and should be able to do so at the library or via the library’s resources.

The idea that a body of information evolves, each new piece building off another, is a concept that I love. People consume & utilize information in different ways, often involving a great deal of creativity in the process. Libraries would be wise to be a part of this creativity.

I think this also ties into the YouTube video The Machine is Us/ing Us. I thought the phrase "teaching the machine" was especially poignant.

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