Thing Two

See, I'm already way behind: It's taken me weeks to get to number two.
I think the"Library 2.0" label is just a faddish way of saying that it is of utmost importance that librarians and libraries keep up with the needs and, yes, wants of the public. I feel that libraries in the past have always done an excellent job of fulfilling the expectations of those patrons who came in and asked, but more and more people don't think that they need to ask,or even come in. And libraries have to stay open. Libraries are vital, it's just that a lot of people don't understand how vital. So libraries have to show they are current, and currency means ACCESS.
Capitalist don't have time to wait for anything. It all comes back to money and time. And why should people wait if they don't have to. If libraries aren't going to help, then people will find a way without them.
We need to be "Library 2.0" because that is what we are expected to be. It's not about books, it's not about customer service, it's not about computers. It is about democratic access. To as many things as your brother, your sister, your government or, heck, your president, have access to so that you have a fighting chance to live as quality a life as you choose to live. Access should not be self-conscious: libraries should be matter-of-fact about their capabilities, that we are indeed ahead of the curve as far as providing access in all manner of ways. I think this is a duty of the librarian, just as it has always been. Now there are just new ways of doing it.

Thing One

I am such a great fan of blogs. I thirst for postings and follow some voraciously, yet I've always been so timid about trying new things on the internet for a number of reasons:

1. I've found that the more you know about using computers, the more you don't know.
2. I could spend the better part of a day figuring all this stuff out and getting it exactly the way I want it. And that's too much time. Especially when my three-year-old is wondering why he has to wait for my attentions.
3. Security. I don't trust the government. I don't necessarily trust my fellow man. I wonder just how much of an online presence I am comfortable with. On the one hand I love the online community and the personalities that I have seen there, but on the other I don't like the thought of being watched or tracked or any of that. I mean, it's easy enough to monitor people without being given a carte blanche into their lives as it sometimes seems personal blogs provide.

But, I really want to learn to use these things for myself, my friends, my kid, my patrons, and the only real way to do that is to do it online.

So here goes.