USF SLIS: East Coast Connection

As we all know the major buzzwords in library science right now are library 2.0 and web 2.0. It's a good thing, and an exciting thing. The world of information is a fascinating place, and there are are dizzying array of technologies we can take advantage of, and I want to know about all of them. As I have immersed myself in library culture, in school and on the job, I have become familiar with most of the technologies that make up web 2.0, and how they are being implemented in libraries across the country. I have went to a number of work sponsored library 2.0 seminars, and they inevitably cover the same subject areas; blogs, wikis, second life, myspace, rss... I have noticed the law of diminishing returns taking effect. Originally, people were quite excited to be hearing about these new technologies, and how other libraries were using them, but lately it seems like library 2.0 conferences are just another conference to attend, not info from the cutting edge. I think there are two main causes for this lack of enthusiasm; repetition and lack of efficacy.

This library 2.0 thing has been going on for a couple of years now, but we are still hearing the same ole stuff. There is definitely a digital divide amongst librarians, and I am affraid the 2.0 talks are falling into that chasm. The talks are too advanced for non-technically inclined librarians, and too basic for those of us who are on board, so they end up serving no one.  It is time to start advancing these talks. We cannot be held back by those unwilling or unable to learn these new technologies. Those of us who have the interest, and have the ability need to start moving this train forward. We cannot wait on administration to give us the technologies we need. We cannot wait for a magic library 2.0 book that is going to give us all the answers. It's not so much that we can't wait, but why should we? Exploring all of these technologies is extraordinarily fun for information nuts like ourselves. We need to become independent 2.0 librarians building our online web 2.0 empires. If the library won't take us there it is time to start walking, because many of us are not feeling empowered in our profession.

 After the first few of these 2.0 meetings, the buzz aftwards was all positive. People seemed genuinly excited about trying new technologies, and bringing new technologies into the library, but lately that's not the vibe i've been getting. Most people feel we are stuck in neutral, and we have no power to implement any of these technologies. We can't build a library myspace page without permission from the county. We can't install del.icio.us links onto the library's website, we don't have administrative priviliges on the staff computers. We cannot even install the latest version of flash when the kids need it to watch their Nickelodeon videos. We know they have there reasons... One time somone downloaded a virus. One time a patron complained because someone downloaded... on and on, so we can't wait for library 2.0, we have to become librarian 2.0.