Thursday, April 3, 2008

Library 2.0

The OCLC pages were very interesting and obviously techno-savvy.
The intention to incorporate Web2.0 into library services is a sensible and inevitable progession for libraries if they are to remain relevant to the majority of their users.
I can't help but worry though about the clients that we see on a daily basis who struggle with the most elementary aspects of technology. I'm thinking of those students who even at this stage of the semester, when we have spent hours in training classes, tours and individual help, are still struggling with using Blackboard, studentmail, catalogue searching and literally tremble at the thought of database searching.
How do they even begin to cope with blogs, wikis, online training and the like?
Yes, we as a profession absolutely must get on top of the Library 2.0 technologies, and develop our own services to incorporate them. It is an exciting development in our careers, and we need to allow time for staff to pursue, create and understand.
But we also need to ensure that we also always have staff and services available to assist those students who are in real danger of being left totally behind.

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