Libraries and librarians, traditionally late adopters, are increasingly turning toward Web 2.0 technologies to interact with patrons.When students research term papers via Google and bloggers reiterate facts about every imaginable topic, they are stealing work from us, say some librarians.
So at the Internet Librarian conference last week, over 100 library professionals speculated about how to survive in a world of Web-based, user-created content.
They've dubbed their initiative Library 2.0.
These innovative librarians realize that some Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs, wikis and online databases like Google Print, are already competing for the attentions of library patrons.
The librarians aim to build a participatory network of libraries using Web resources like blogs, wiki tools and tags.
They hope that the Library 2.0 "movement" will break librarians out of brick-and-mortar establishments and get them to interact with patrons through blog comments, IM and Wiki entries.
But the emphasis on the library as keeper of reliable information remains.
"Publicly edited technology will make libraries and librarians even more valuable where people are trying to sift through the vast amounts of information and misinformation," said Darlene Fichter, a Web consultant and data library coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan. "That information ecosphere is getting larger, richer, more complex."
Teaching Librarians about Web 2.0
Jenny Levine, a self-styled "information maven," has been guiding Midwestern libraries through each phase of the Internet's development since 1996.
She's initiated free Internet access programs and designed library Web sites, and now teaches shy librarians how to take advantage of Web 2.0 tech.
According to Levine, most libraries currently depend on closed-source vendor programs for data management—a crippling Web 1.0 service provider model.
"It's difficult to migrate from [that model] to another, which means you take whatever they give you," Levine explained. "In general, [vendors] want 'proprietary islands,' because it means the library is beholden to them for support and maintenance."
In contrast, the basic applications behind blogs, IM and Wiki-style projects are free. As libraries struggle with shrinking budgets, librarians can utilize free Web 2.0 services to create and syndicate Web content that they can share with other institutions without depending on these expensive software packages.
Next Page: From small time to online.
Utilizing Library 2.0 tools, librarian Aaron Schmidt converted the Thomas Ford Memorial Library into one of the most Web-savvy small-town institutions in the country. Schmidt believes that new tools will only make librarians and libraries better.
"Asking if these tools will replace librarians is like asking, 'Are power tools going to replace carpenters?'" Schmidt said.
His Web site features a public information blog, an IM librarian chat line and a fledgling story-time Podcast for younger patrons of the Illinois library.
In addition, Schmidt set up a beta Wiki-style town history on his library site, allowing neighborhood residents to browse a list of historic homes in Western Springs, Ill.— adding their memories to the public record with a simple Web form.
In addition to public historical records, libraries have used wikis to pool information and standards, such as the librarian-centric "Best Practices Wiki."
Card Catalogs Can Include Tags, Too
Web 2.0 technologies are also changing the way people classify information, a revolution that will change the way librarians operate forever.
"We used to classify so that the information would fit on a catalog card, [but] words are cheap and we should use more of them," explained library guru Jessamyn West. "There are three basic methods of classification: by the author, by the expert and by the people."
A professional librarian specializing in "community technology," West runs librarian.net, a central clearinghouse site for Web-fascinated librarians.
Levine explained how Web 2.0 services like flickr or del.icio.us depend on users, allowing them to attach an unlimited amount of labels to a single Web object. Now, patrons can now share the task of classification, adding tags without disrupting the original labels on the collection—an unlimited amount of descriptive terms fit on a single virtual "card."
Despite all these bold pronouncements, West reminded librarians that many communities, like her Vermont home, are still incompatible with Library 2.0.
"Many libraries I work with are in towns where they can't get high-speed access," she explained. "How can [libraries] be obsolete when people out here aren't even fully using them yet?"
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