Dear Cat,
Do you know of any resources that do a good job of explaining what librarians mean when they talk about Library 2.0?
This question came in from Betty Burrows, the director in Baxter Springs. The Cat might have been inclined to gulp, groom her shoulder blade and wrap her tail around her paws at this question. But, in fact, there was a thread on Publib at the end of January that she found helpful.
There has been a lot of grumbling about Library 2.0, mostly to the effect that: A, It isn’t well defined, or B, It doesn’t exist.
What the Cat took out of the January discussion was the point that 2.0 isn’t just excellent customer service, which librarians have indeed been doing for a long time. Nor is it just the use of cutting edge library technology, which librarians can argue about until time gets mixed up with eternity.
The best respected definitions emphasize the fact that it is user-centered change in library service that makes the library an active partner with its service community.
Michael Casey commented:
“The heart of Library 2.0 is user-centered change. It is a model for library service that encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation in the creation of both the physical and the virtual services they want, supported by consistently evaluating services. It also attempts to reach new users and better serve current ones through improved customer-driven offerings.”
Sarah Houghton’s definition also gets repeated in a number of places:
Library 2.0 simply means making your library’s space (virutal and physical) more interactive, collaborative and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives — to make the library a destination and not an afterthought.
Wickipedia is often a good place to start, although usually not a great place to stop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0
Library Journal had a good article by Michael Casey and Laura Savastinik about the time the discussion started to turn white-hot. It was called “Library 2.0: Service for the Next Generation Library.”
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html
Another Publib poster recommended John Blyberg’s article, “Eleven Reasons Why Library 2.0 Exists and Matters.”
http://tametheweb.com/2006/01/09/11-reasons-why-library-20-exists-and-matters/
Walt Crawford devoted a whole issue of Cites and Insights to Library 2.0 and “Library 2.0.” He does a good job of reflecting the chaos on the topic in 2006 and a good job of showcasing the “people with lots to say” on the topic. He also points out that being confrontational with the subject is counterproductive, but that exciting changes are continuing to take place in libraries where people are offering service and not yelling about it. His article is 31 pages, but well worth a review.
http://citesandinsights.info/civ6i2.pdf
After reviewing these materials, the Cat asked her cat family what they thought of this concept. Their response was very revealing:
“What you mean is that we should run this household. As if we hadn’t been saying that for years! Cat 2.0 is easy. We want a hotpad big enough for the whole family, a constant supply of fresh water, a perpetual cat feeder in addition to two wet meals and two milk breaks every day. We want a kitty door so WE can decide when we go in and out 24/7. We want it clearly understood that the human lap is available for cuddling whenever the human is home.”
The Cat didn’t bother to point out the health-related and safety-related reasons why some of this was unlikely to happen. She was reminded all too clearly of a certain library user who wants total access 24/7, wants to follow her nose all over the Internet, wants the books mailed to her, wants to comment on everything and wants the cafe open all the hours that the library is open.
None of this material cited in this article is hot off the press in 2009, but maybe that is part of the point as well. People are spending less time talking about the Revolution! and more time evolving the library services that will quietly make the library a partner with the library users in creating excellent library service. Such partners certainly deserve a purr from the
Cat
