Week 6, Task 15: Library 2.0

Library 2.0 refers to a model of library service that, like Web 2.0 on the internet, is flexible and open to change, constantly updated and reevaluated, and relies on user feedback in the design and implementation of effective new services. I would hope that these are traits that we are already practicing in our school libraries and that the perspectives we read this week will serve as reminders and motivators to best meet the needs of the students and staff that we serve.

I was fortunate to begin my job in a brand new library ten years ago. Our catalog is online, our computers have internet access, our site council and PTA have supported us in developing our collection of books and electronic resources. The infrastructure is in place. Now, CSLA is supporting me in developing my personal tool collection to use the resources of the web to best advantage.

I will go back to school in the fall with so many new ideas that I'll never be able to implement them all, but that's not really the point. I think that one of the key points of library 2.0 is that 'it's never done'. We need to reorient our way of thinking from fixed goals to be met, to ongoing goals that are a work in progress. We need to be trendspotters and maybe even trendsetters for our schools. We don't need to be techno-geeks; what we need is to be good readers, good listeners and flexible professionals who value and collaborate with our patrons.