Rick Anderson in the OCLC newsletter talks of integrating library services into their (the users) daily patterns of work, study and play. Here is the challenge, to get people who do not usually access libraries to make it just part of their day. This is where RSS to the desk top can be really useful I just hope it works better than the alerts we tried to encourage from our library management system I think the fact that the RSS feed can be separate not buried within the daily emails but still as a useful group may work if people get into the habit of opening their feed and their emails every morning the trick is to get them to put the databases (copyright issues?) and library programs into their feeds.
No profession can survive if it throws its core principles and values overboard in response to every shift in the zeitgeist. (My problem with web 2.0 exactly)
..This librarian (the web 2.0 type one) bases all planning and proposals for services, materials and outreach on user needs and wants. (this always happened I hope) I am glad that he feels... honest, human conversations still need to take place even if virtually and in person. I like the way he asserts we should control our technolust (are we doing that in this program?)
However, if we are to provide the tools for users to become their own program directors of their content will we just be pandering to their technolust.
Chip Nilges of OCLC refers to O'Reilly's notion “to reach out to the entire web, to the edges and not just the center,” implies that we are redefining what our community is. Do we need a definition or do we think we can be all things to all people? The edges those places that define communities are changing. (is there an edge?) if the world is our oyster we have some serious thinking to do to stay relevant . OCLC is going to allow non cataloging librarians and other users to access OCLC and create tags, create lists etc .Ok if they keep their own tags that remain relevant to them but browsing through some ones tags is like browsing through their mind very imprecise and cloudy that’s why they call it a cloud. Not sure I am happy about the concept of tags.
The idea of broadening relevance ranking should go some why to tidying up the search
.....wider range of metadata, such as circulation activity, placement of materials on class reserve lists, sales data, and clicks to download, print, and capture citations.....(Reimer OCLC)
Her projection of the future library as library 4.0 will add a new mode, knowledge spa: meditation, relaxation, immersion in a luxury of ideas and thought. (Now here was I thinking that was what people were doing each time they opened a book or browsed the shelves
(oh dear I must stop now, where did I leave that gin)
However web 2.0 has very usful tools see below the Google maps mash up of the Boroondara library sites
