I found the article "Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries?" very interesting reading and while each respondent had important things to say, for me, the image of rowing away from the icebergs is a very powerful one. I don't want to be the Bookwoman who perishes on the Titanic! Thankfully, I see this dynamic learning project (L2.0) as a way to the lifeboats, so to speak. The three icebergs Rick Anderson points out (the "just in case" collection, the reliance on user education, and the "come to us" model of library service") are the three big threats to those of us who began our careers here 25 or more years ago while the Marc record was a glimmer in someone's eye. We developed finely-honed skills of collection developement to have the most comprehensive collection to serve the needs of patrons who came to us. And when they came to us, we forced them to learn how to use the resources! If we're waiting for patrons to walk through our doors, we are in big trouble! Anderson's points reiterate some of the ideas presented by Joan Frye Williams (former librarian and now library consultant) at at NEO-RLS workshop last spring--the major one being that services must become user-centric. The hand-clapper statement of Anderson's article is "But if our services can't be used without training, then it's the services that need to be fixed--not our patrons." Williams said the same thing--we'd better embrace the technologies and applications that are already a part of our patrons' lives if we want to keep them as library customers. If we can do this, Bonaria Biancu's L2.0 Meme map (shown above and readable from my Del.icio.us Favorites) can become a paradigm for all libraries--ours included.
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