Here's the gist of what I've come to learn about how 2.0 technologies relate to libraries: 2.0 technologies and the social revolution of the web are forcing libraries to plan, think, and act like businesses in ways that they never have before. Regardless of what service people are seeking, they are expecting it to be as easy and fast as a Google Search, uploading pics and tagging them on Flickr, and writing a blog post. I always got a chuckle when I'd hear my grandma say things like "They can put a man on the moon, but they can't make me a sink that doesn't leak." Grandma lumped the whole NASA Apollo project team together with whoever made her sink in Clifton, NJ! But that's how she viewed technology: It's run and developed by some murky, nebulous group of "they." Whether we like it or not, people are and will continue to lump all of the businesses and services in their lives together. They'll ask why they can't find a book in their library as easily as they can for purchase on Amazon, or why it's easier for them to find books of interest on LibraryThing through user-generated tags and keywords. For reasons like these, I say that libraries are forced to adapt, as so many of the perspectives presented in the OCLC Newsletter make clear. People are already questioning the relevance of libraries. We need to change this.
I don't think changing public perception of the library is going to be done strictly through technology, though. Some pressure needs to be put on changing aspects of information policy. I don't know much about policy structure and how it relates to public institutions. However, I do know that many institutions pay thousands and thousands of dollars for access to privately owned and operated collections of electronic databases, journals, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, etc., etc., etc. These are precisely the digital information objects that library patrons want. These represent yet another aspect of what libraries will need in order to preserve their relevance. How are they going to afford gaining access to these services?
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As always, an excellent and insightful post. (By the way, I worked at the Clifton Public Library for the first several years of my library career!) :-)
ReplyDeleteTommy,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the library world isn't the only group facing these problems. It can be very difficult to reach any type of client if it's not the same "Google and click" mentality. I'll be the first to admit to getting frustrated w/ a website when (at least I felt) it was poorly designed and I couldn't get at what I needed easily. The whole "man on the moon but not..." mindset is still seen today, even if that's not the exact phrase. "They can put my photos online and recognize who's in them...but they can't turn off my check engine light."