Library 2.0 Commentary
Though most of the content in the 2006 OCLC Newsletter "Where will the next generation Web take libraries?" is considered household knowledge by now, it was at the very least enjoyeable to reflect on how accurate the forecasts have been. Of all of the articles, I especially savored reading Dr. Wendy Schultz's peice "To A Temporary Place and Time..." It is chocked full of rich vocabulary including "technohustle" and describing libraries as "mind gyms" and a "knowledge spa". It is also quite a concentrated visionary model. Dr. Schultz wrote so many interesting perspectives, mentioning them all would mean citing the entire piece. However, in particular I enjoyed chewing on her view that "Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities: they preserve and promote community memories; they provide mentors not only for the exploration of stored memory, but also for the creation of new artifacts of memory." I also think that lining up Library 1.0 through Library 4.0 with the economic "Chain of Meaning" was brilliant. However, where I do get a little old-school and uncomfortable is in the glorification of all things Web 3.0 and Web 4.0. Personally, I loathe online avatar customer service tools and I think that they are every bit as much of a nuissance as they are helpful. In addition, perhaps it's just a preference and maybe someday only a luxury, however, in my opinion, exclusively online experiences are somewhat frustrating and soulless. I can attest this because most of my MLS degree was done online through USF. To the day I have no warm and fuzzy feelings for USF as an alma mater. As is, my fondest memories were in a real face-to-face 1.0 environment. Keeping this in mind, we do have to stay diligent about incorporating technologies that are useful, useable, and mostly continue to truly benefit the library community at large.