Library 2.0H NO

Just kidding with the title, I couldn't resist the "stereotypical" response! I read several of the Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 articles listed, and found most of them to be biased toward the concept of 2.0, as expected, and at the same time implying that this is something that meets a lot of resistance from us old folks. The whole idea of "digital natives" vs. those of us seen as "tourists." I am still not sure that I see the students I deal with as "natives." They may consider themselves computer "experts," able to click and travel around in a web search, but they have no vocabulary for what they are doing, and little idea of what to do once they reach their destination. Being their "tour guide" can be frustrating, if they don't end up with some sort of "game," they have limited ability for using the information they find. It comes down to having to read something, after all, just on a monitor instead of a page.

I found the Wikipedia entry on Library 2.0 interesting, and went to some of the links. One I found most intriguing was about making the OPAC "fun," more like Librarything or Google, with lots of ways for the patron to actively engage with it while searching. Hummm- seems like that would be like saying "why doesn't my dictionary get up and dance?" If you want to "play" with books, find reviews, post opinions, engage with others, etc, etc, then, by all means, go to a site that does that- Shelfari, Goodreads, Librarything- but if you want to look up a book and see if it is in the library and available to check out, then the good old OPAC is what you want. Do I use a dictionary much anymore to look up words? No, I go to the online dictionaries. Do I use an encyclopedia much anymore to do research? Nope, I go to the online encyclopedias. Do we still teach students to use dictionaries and encyclopedias? YUP. Do we also teach them to use the available online resources? YUP. Web 2.0 is with us every day in a number of very important, and very routine, ways. But I see these tools as existing along side of the more traditional tools, at least for now. It is fun exploring all of these technological marvels, and I can see where we will be moving toward incorporating more and more into our daily lives. But I am not ready to chuck all of the books just yet. . .I think we will need them for at least a little while longer!