Thing 2 AKA Web/Library 2.0

So this whole 23 things bit is a part of exploring Library 2.0/Web 2.0 - a new era of technology and networking, and making the library more accessible to patrons. After reading a few of the articles linked at Neflin's 23 things blog, I am inspired.

Though really, it's been something that's been on my mind for awhile - ever since my library's staff development day last year. Brad Ward came and did a presentation on pop culture, and hit on the subject of libraries using sites like Second Life to reach out and provide a service to patrons. My coworker Jan had already been on the site a number of times, and throughout the year it's something we've talked about. I've even created an avatar for the site and done some limited exploring (limited by the memory on my laptop, that is). In fact, since reading the article and me starting this post, we've even decided to start talking to libraries already established in that world to see what they offer and the kind of traffic they get.

Of course there are some more basic things we need to address at our library too. We just added 9 more computers for public usage - though unfortunately we didn't add any more bandwidth, and so when all of the computers are full, everything crawls to a halt. At this time, the only thing on our public computers is Internet Explorer (we have separate and ancient word processors), which really wouldn't be too much of a problem (what with all of Google's online applications), except that most of our patrons are not really computer savvy. No CD-ROMs, disks, flash drives are able to be used in our computers, which is a shame, because I think flash drives are an important part of Web 2.0 - that whole portability/accessibility thing. Also, more and more businesses are going web-based - we have numerous patrons coming in trying to fill out online applications for jobs, food stamps, unemployment, and student loans.

One solution to this would be to offer computer classes. The local community college offers some, and there's also a local computer lab, but they've started charging for their services. We could do basics like signing up for an email address, all the way to trickin' out a Myspace page. I also like the idea of embedding an IM to the desktop for patrons to use. Heck, I'd like one for the staff to use. It could really help when there's a problem patron or something - it would be a discreet way to get a message to someone to come help without having to pick up the phone and describe the situation or leave to try to track someone down.

One of the articles mentioned trust. Trust is what we need to make these technologies available. Trust that if we let our patrons use flash drives, they won't crash our system with a trojan. Or, trust that if that happens, we have the technology and ability to fix it. Trust that if we put up blogs and social networking sites, our patrons won't leave profane comments. Library 2.0 is, I think, about taking chances and trusting that they'll work, or trusting that if they don't , the library will be ok.