Thing 14

What does Library 2.0 mean to me? The main thing is that I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! As I started my School Library Certification (I highly recommend the University of North Texas program) in January 2000, I had no idea I was stepping not only into a new millenium but into a new reality! I thought it was going to be all about the books and assisting students to find and use those books. But today's library is both an exciting and scary place to be. Scary when you think what 2.0 really means: a shared network that encourages interaction and shared information. The library will no longer be just a physical space in the school. It will be a virtual location where our students will be able to share their knowledge. That is a scary thought! How will all that social networking work in a school environment? To be truly Library 2.0, won't students have to be able to contribute to the librarians' online creations? Will students be given the power and, most importantly, the access to be able to do that? Will the format be blogs, wikis, social bookmarking? Probably all of those things and more and it's exciting to speculate how Library 2.0 will evolve over time. The last article referred to Library 3.0 which might include the collecting of librarians instead of books. I assume that means instead of bookmarking websites we'll be bookmarking our favorite librarians' blogs. But just as it was difficult for me to realize back in January 2000 what my job as librarian would become, it is difficult for me to realize in January 2008 the infinite possibilities of what Library 2.0 can become. Not only are we not in Kansas, I don't think we're ever going back home!