Web 2.0 & Library 2.0 - #15

There is a, perhaps unavoidable, underlying assumption in all of these perspectives I'm reading about Library 2.0.

Assumption: That all users can and will prefer to use online/electronic/computer-based services.

That assumption is wrong. (It's probably something most public librarians who work directly with the public are aware of, but I think it's worth reminding people of.)

Michael Stephens asserts that the Librarian 2.0 "controls technolust" and does not subscribe to technology for technologies sake. I like that idea. While I also like his assertion that the "Librarian 2.0 makes good, yet fast decisions" I see no sign of that happening in some systems. Probably most systems, since most libraries are part of large governmental bodies and governments love bureaucracy.

I'm not so enamored of his idea of Librarian 2.0 as a trendspotter. Librarians could easily spend all their time looking for and adapting to trends without accomplishing anything else. Plus, I'm not convinced libraries should adapt to trends. Trends are ephemeral and most people never adapt to any specific trend. Libraries should adapt/adopt/conform to accepted, customary practices.

Michael's complete thoughts on Librarian 2.0 can be found here: http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm

I also like Rick Anderson's insistence that we move away from systems that require users to educate themselves on using the system. (http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm) But I don't think we should completely discount 'research skills' as he calls them. Actually, I believe they become more important as the total sum of knowledge grows and the percentage of knowledge available to everyone grows.

The actual skills and methods of 'research skills' will, and should, change as our ways of organizing and storing knowledge changes. But, the ability to figure out what you need, find something, evaluate its relevance and authority, and then put it into context in relation to all the other bits of things you found will only grow more important.