As I am wondering if I have time to work on the 23 Things, I launch Stephen Abrams video. He speaks of putting choice in our lives and of committing 15 minutes a day to engage in our passions. Library work is a passion for me; therefore, why am I worrying about finding the time to work on a project that will enhance my work in my chosen field and my studies in LIS? Most of us usually devote way beyond 15 minutes to our passion. So, what's my excuse?
Library 2.0 and Trust - We are a service profession. We are people dedicated to assisting others in their pursuit of information. But do we really listen to what our users want? In part, yes. But now that our users are deeply engaged in interaction and contribution in a web environment, we need to not only listen but allow our users to contribute their thoughts, knowledge, and their own information. This means TRUST. Do we impede our users by widening our eyes in horror when colleagues suggest that we allow our users to post their own book reviews or rate and comment on a particular work listed in our catalogs? They post everywhere else, yet we don't trust them enough to let them enhance our catalogs and maybe just make them a little less ho-hum.
Library 2.0 and Fast Decision Making - I think we're in trouble here. As a profession, I think we tend to over-analyze, worry, and cling to outmoded policies. We're falling behind fast. We have to form committees and sub-committees and talk everything to death before we can move on to making even a small change. Yet we love what we do and we know we have to take risks and jump on some things NOW, or risk becoming irrelevant (yeah, that word has been over used, but think about it....). Since Library 2.0 is going to be in constant beta, we know that we may not have to be wedded to a quick decision. Why not just jump in (especially if it won't impact the budget significantly)?
Library 2.0 and Virtual Reference - Again, this is something libraries are s-l-o-w to embrace. To me, this is exciting and I've had firsthand experience with being on the user end of VR. I was searching for a conference paper that one of our users wanted for his research. I looked in the usual places (WorldCat, Google search, etc), but could not find it anywhere. Then, I thought I should try to contact the institution in which the author/presenter teaches. When I got to the site, I decided to start with the library's catalog to see if it might have been cataloged, even though a holding did not show in WorldCat. And there it was.... Meebo! I quickly sent an IM, hoping that someone was on the other end, ready to assist. Yep, there it was. An instant response. Five minutes later, I had the information I needed. The paper was indeed available, but the title had been changed. I was able to get a copy for our user. Whoo Hoo!
When I complete my LIS program, I would very much like to do VR! It is exciting that some MN libraries are already doing this. If any VR librarians care to post about their experiences, I would love to hear about them!
Library 2.0 - Isn't it exciting?!
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