Library 2.0

Interesting article. As I've done my observations, I've seen a gap between what we're talking about in class (as far as what librarians could and should be doing with technology) and what actual librarians in the field are doing. One of the most impressive librarians I've observed, in fact, talked to us about this very thing. She has made herself an invaluable part of the faculty and the school, and yet she expressed real concern to us about what she (and her attorney husband) perceive as the huge security risk of putting so much personal information out on the web. Watching her, I would have to argue with the author of this article that incorporating more and more and more technology is the best way to make ourselves relevant. Should librarians step up the technological relevancy of the library program? Of course. However, I would postulate that pushing all the latest web applications and trends is only ONE way to serve the school and the students. In fact, if not done well, I suspect it would be more of a time waster than anything else. Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it necessarily should be done.

Just as librarians search through available book titles to find the best, in the same way they should choose only the best, most inspiring web 2.0 possibilities. More is not always better. Quantity does not beat out quality.

I've also wondered many times with my own classes how to get students involved in more web 2.0 applications, such as blogging, when their parents in some cases won't allow them to have e-mail or Facebook pages. Do we only do these activities with the students who have signed permission slips? What about the other ones? Now I believe UEN has its own blogging capability that I need to look into. Sometimes I think people who write these articles either aren't in a lower-grade school setting, or else they aren't in a school setting at all, because they seem to forget important things like parental permission.