Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Thing #15 - Library 2.0

The library has undergone such change in just the past ten years. Library systems began as a way of providing information to all the public, regardless of status, and the library continues to work at new ways of meeting the needs of all its patrons. I think this has been possible by the change in attitude of what a library can be for the community and what a librarian's role is in serving the community. People seem to be doing more, working later, and are always on the run. The library has worked at providing more access to its materials than simple during the hours of operation. People can search for books, place holds, renew material, sign up for programs, all from the comfort of their home computer. Patrons are able to return materials without stepping foot in the building. The library provides access to the Internet, which creates an endless amount of resources. All of these advances make the library more accessible to an even greater percentage of the community. The library works hard at keeping the website up to date with the most current information about upcoming events. It allows users to see advertisements of events that might be beyond their backyard. I don't think that any of the motivation behind better serving the public has changed throughout the history of the library system, but the practices of serving and the speed at which policies are changing is the heart of library 2.0.

No comments: