Wednesday, October 31, 2007

# 14 & #15 - Technorati and Library 2.0

I explored the Technorati site and found it fascinating. It's a wonderful tool for finding blogs in a topic. Searched for Library 2.0 in the tags, blogs and entire posts. Thought that the list of blogs was interesting but found the search of tags the most helpful. The results of my search of the entire posts was somewhat overwhelming.

I read some of the perspectives on Library 2.0 and find that my viewpoint keeps swaying back and forth as I read others' thoughts and discover new technologies during my odyssey through our Library 2.o project. Some claim that it is where libraries must go as a solution to declining library usage. A study reported in the OCLC newsletter just today stated that use of library web sites has declined by 33 percent in the past two years. Others are concerned that the hype of Library 2.0 may cause us to lose our focus on basic library service. Perhaps the truth is somewhere in between. Even the non-technophobe is being drawn into the "technological world" with everyday devices like digital cameras, MP3 players, online banking, selfcheck in libraries and stores, etc. Libraries must keep up with the times. Library 2.0 can help us to enhance our service and meet our user's changing needs. However, we must not forget that we also provide good service to that library user who simply want a good book to read or even a movie to watch on a Saturday night.

In summary, Library 2.0 is a wonderful tool but not the "solution" to library service.

No comments: