thoughts on Library 2.0 (wk 6, ex. 15)

I read Away from the "icebergs" (by Rick Anderson in OCLC Newsletter's Web 2.0: Where will it take libraries?), and thought it made a lot of sense...

1. We put a lot of effort into teaching library users to navigate poorly-designed, clumsy systems. Perhaps some of that effort should instead be used to recreate the systems so that they are more intuitive and more precise.
   
   
2. Library services and resources should be available to users where they are, and should ideally integrate with the rest of their world. Not only would users be able to access our databases from home, but using the library shouldn't be an entirely separate process... Integrating the library into Blackboard is a good example of this. Developing a presence for the library and catalog somewhere like Facebook is another idea...

Into a new world of librarianship and To more powerful ways to cooperate (Michael Stephens' and Chip Nilges' sections of the same article, respectively) touches on the importance of the user-centered (and even user-based) nature of Library 2.0. Incorporating 2.0 tools is a great way to break down barriers (real and perceived) between the library and its users. Interactive tools, if used effectively, should give library users more ability to tailor their library experience to their own needs and to collaborate with others to make improvements. This can in turn create a sense among users that the library is a responsive, evolving entity with much more to offer than they might have realized.