Libraries are changing. Their main focus is to reach its users with the resources that it needs. Library 2.0 is usually any service that reaches it users successfully. It does not have to be new or online. Library 2.0 was first generated by Michael Casey and published in his blog, Library Crunch in 2006 (Gross & Leslie, 2008). Library 2.0 is a transformation of library services. It deals with the way library services are delivered to the users and allows the services to operate in an interactive collaborative atmosphere driven by the needs of the users. It also encourages synchronous social interactions between library staff and its users (Aquil, Parvez, Siddique, 2011). Web 2.0 tools are a good way for libraries to reach the level of service called Library 2.0.
Web 2.0 is a term first coined by Tim O’Reilly in a conference brainstorming session between O’Reilly and MediaLive International. According to O’Reilly, Web 2.0 is “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010). A simpler definition of Web 2.0 is “a space that allows anyone to create and share information online – a space for collaboration, conversation, and interaction; a space that is highly dynamic, flexible, and adaptable” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010). Web 2.0 includes web based services such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, photo, and video sharing sites. The creation of Web 2.0 has caused libraries to change.
References
Aqil, M., Ahmad, P., & Siddique, M. (2011). Web 2.0 and libraries: Facts or myths. DESIDOC Journal Of Library & Information Technology, 31(5), 395-400.
Aqil, M., Ahmad, P., & Siddique, M. (2011). Web 2.0 and libraries: Facts or myths. DESIDOC Journal Of Library & Information Technology, 31(5), 395-400.
Harinarayana, N. & Raju, N. (2010). Web 2.0 features in university library web sites. The Electronic Library, 28(1), 68-88. doi: 10.1108/02640471011023388
I usually think of the Library 2.0 as how libraries are "everywhere." Our patrons can access our OPACs from their smart phones, read material on any number of mobile devices and order material from other libraries all over the world. Recently we added the ability of our patrons to text reference questions to a librarian. Barring the need for in-depth research questions, students can now get instant reference assistance without having to be in the library. Hopefully, these practices will insure we remain relevant to our users!
ReplyDeleteI live out in rural Georgia, and to some extent I feel like some public libraries have missed out on the Web 2.0 phenomenon. While most public libraries have website, some have been slow to acquire them. Or maybe the acquired the site in the 1990s ahead of the curve, but have not updated the sight since then. Sure the information maybe updated, but the look and feel of the site is disconnected. This maybe due to lack of funds in the budget for these public libraries to update the look of their page, but they also lack in the social media sphere as well, where web space is free.
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