Keeping Your Bearings in the New Digital Landscape

Cliff Landis

Athens Regional Library System

Staff Development Day

September 27, 2007

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Confused by “2.0”?

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A little history…http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanan_cohen/455243239/

1.0

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• Connects Information– Web sites– Databases– FTP– Search Engines

2.0• Connects People

– Email– Social

networking sites– Gaming– IM– RSS– Wikis

http://flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/389360490/

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/habibmi/222280353/

Some Principles of Library 2.0

• The library is everywhere.• The library has no barriers.• The library invites participation.• The library uses flexible, best-of-breed systems.• The library encourages the heart.• The library is human.• The library recognizes that its users are human too.• Harness the library user in both design and

implementation of services• Library users should be able to craft and modify library

provided services

http://tametheweb.com/2005/12/the_collected_principles_of_li.html

In the past…

• Provided services without asking users what they want

• Made changes without consulting users

• Handed over services (such as the OPAC) to for-profit businesses

• Made users jump through the hoops we created for them

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But Now…

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So What’s on the Horizon?

1.0 2.0

3.0 4.0

3.0• Connects

Information• Reannotation

of the Web• Top-Down

– Agents

• Bottom-Up– Subjects– Tagging

http://flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/303503677/

Order + Chaos =

• A place for everything, and everything in its place

http://www.flickr.com/photos/materialboy/52523850/

Moving Beyond Text

• Looks Like:– Etsy

– Like

– Riya

• Sounds Like:– Pandora

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4.0• Connects

Knowledge

• Group/Enterprise minds (tribes)

• Information + people = knowledge

• Automated Serendipity

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We must find out what users

•WANT– Social space– Help at the point of need– Collaboration– A voice in how things are

done– It NOW– It fixed YESTERDAY– Options

•NEED– High quality information– Assistance finding/using

that information– Lifelong learning skills– Information evaluation

skills– Technology skills– A quiet place to study

We must provide BOTH

So what should we do?

• As library workers, how will we respond to these changes?

• How do we keep up?

Librarian Stereotype

http://www.flickr.com/photos/librarianavengers/269737140/

Fear Not!

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Baby Steps

• 10-15 minutes a day to learn new things

• One tool at a time• Limit your information

intake• People are your best

source for information• Share what you learn

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/202872717/

…including me!