Thursday, July 3, 2008

Thing 15: Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

Prior to delving into 23 Things, my gut opinion of L2 was: we were throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

After reading all five of the perspectives on L2, I found that Michael Stephens', Chip Nilge's, and John Riemer's blogs made my eyes glaze over and my mind wander... I found myself wishing I was at Nordstroms buying a pair of shoes.

However, after consuming Rick Anderson's "Away From the Icebergs"and Dr. Schultz's "To a Temporary Place in Time" I was ready to jump aboard Anderson's boat, commandeer Dr. Schultz, row like mad to Library 4.0, disembark, and settle into the Knowledge Spa......

I find myself with one foot in the well-mannered backlash against L2 and the other foot struggling to educate myself and come to grips with L2 as a vital and very real movement. No one ever seems to talk about funding. Are there magic money trees sprouting in the nether-lands? Lack of funding for public and academic libraries is notorious reality. One blogger, Laura Crossett, asks if L2 is just a club for rich libraries.

If I can keep focused on Sarah Houghton's definition of L2, supposedly the de facto standard, I can work with making libraries "more relevant".

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