Week 7, Lessons 16 and 17
Wiki madness!
Seems that wikis are a major innovation in interactive networking but I'm still coming to terms with the concept. The old teacher and cataloguer genes in me are struggling with the concept of allowing anyone to add to or alter something that has been carefully created. Still the Wikipedia seems to work quite well, with occasional cases of sabotage and political manipulation. I suppose with a catalogue some areas could be blocked and patrons could add reviews and comments. This can certainly enrich the experience of selecting a book from what is normally a fairly unhelpful catalogue entry. I will explore this further so that I understand it a bit better, at least I've made a start.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
'Moving with the times'
Lesson 15
Articles on Library 2.0 and the future.
It's a bit bizarre to be reading about all the future/present technological posibilities available on-line access when I don't even have a computer at home anymore, not even one with dial-up access! It's a fitting reminder that not everyone has access to these tools or craves the next/latest feature. I will get a computer to replace the one my kids took when they moved out, but there is no real sense of urgency for me. I have other ways of doing the things I did via the computer at home. I think I will always be a 'technology immigrant', happy to do things in the old-fashioned way.
The articles are written by people who are obviously very excited by what they can do online. My ideas and opinions about technology in libraries have changed in the last 5 years or so. If I lived in America, or worked in a technologically rich setting I would probably be more excited by the prospects and more experienced with using them.
The library where I work is mainly frequented by the young and elderly. They get frustrated about loading money onto a plastic card for photocopying. I don't think they are craving the fastest, newest, most interactive computer products. However the area is changing with younger people buying and rebuilding. In 5 to 10 years the demographic will change, a younger, more affluent, technologically demanding set of patrons will emerge. So we need to be ready for them or our relevance to the community will diminish, this is where programs like Libraries 2.0 are so useful to prepare staff for a rapidly changing future.
Articles on Library 2.0 and the future.
It's a bit bizarre to be reading about all the future/present technological posibilities available on-line access when I don't even have a computer at home anymore, not even one with dial-up access! It's a fitting reminder that not everyone has access to these tools or craves the next/latest feature. I will get a computer to replace the one my kids took when they moved out, but there is no real sense of urgency for me. I have other ways of doing the things I did via the computer at home. I think I will always be a 'technology immigrant', happy to do things in the old-fashioned way.
The articles are written by people who are obviously very excited by what they can do online. My ideas and opinions about technology in libraries have changed in the last 5 years or so. If I lived in America, or worked in a technologically rich setting I would probably be more excited by the prospects and more experienced with using them.
The library where I work is mainly frequented by the young and elderly. They get frustrated about loading money onto a plastic card for photocopying. I don't think they are craving the fastest, newest, most interactive computer products. However the area is changing with younger people buying and rebuilding. In 5 to 10 years the demographic will change, a younger, more affluent, technologically demanding set of patrons will emerge. So we need to be ready for them or our relevance to the community will diminish, this is where programs like Libraries 2.0 are so useful to prepare staff for a rapidly changing future.
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