"Librarian 2.0 controls technolust This librarian does not buy technology for the sake of technology. " This quote is by Michael Stephens in Web 2.0: Where will it take libraries? "Into a new world of librarianship: Sharpen these skills for Librarian 2.0." As entertaining and enticing many of these technologies are to me (especially flickr toys), we cannot afford to buy into every single new trend. With property tax and other budget cuts, we are limited how we spend our funds. Subscribing to a program just to say "we offer this service" is a waste of funds if the service is not utilized and just eats money.
Dr. Wendy Schultz, in her article "To a temporary place in time...: On the way to the library experience of the future," brings the evolution of libraries full-circle. In "Library 1.0: Commodity," there is an emphasis on books, research, and education. "Library 2.0: Product" focuses on libraries in the digital age and people creating their own content (MySpace, You Tube, Facebook, blogging, LiveJournal). "Library 3.0—Web 3D to Library 3D: Service" talks about librarians in the virtual world. "Library 4.0, the neo-library: Experience" includes aspects of Library 1.0 through 3.0: book storage and retrieval, digitization, virtual librarians, etc. It also will have a space that harkens back to the old-fashioned library with quiet reading rooms.
Schultz mentions virtual worlds such as Second Life. I've heard about Second Life, and I have to admit I'm not as knowledgeable about it as I should be. Nor do I have an interest in joining that community. I don't have time to look at all the rss feeds and newsreaders I signed up for on bloglines - how do you expect me to create and maintain a virtual avatar? Libraries going virtual - will the whole world one day be virtual? Will we receive all our mail, movies, music, and books via the computer or i-Pod or MP3 player (without ever having to leave home)? Will there come a day when the only "face-to-face" contact we have is on a virtual plane? Having access to research, news, and communities online opens a world to people who live in isolated areas or cannot get the support or information otherwise, but there is still something to be said for personal face-to-face interactions, hearing someone's voice on the phone, or reading a handwritten letter someone took the time to write and mail. Maybe one day Schultz's Library 4.0 will come to fruition - and we can have the best of both worlds.
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