Week Six - Thing # 15

Tonight I read about Library 2.0. This is basically a name for the library's emerging roll in web 2.0. In Away from the Icebergs Rick Anderson makes the point that libraries must move away from maintaining the "just in case" collection. I would argue that decreasing budgets made that a necessity before the web did. Reference material, which is now available online, makes more sense because it is cheaper, kept current more easily, and accessible by library patrons at their nearest computer (as long as they have the appropriate password.) Mr. Anderson also discusses that libraries have changed from a "come to us" monopolistic approach.
I also read Michael Stephens article Into a new World of Librarianship. In in he discusses the need for libraries to keep up with technology without pursuing technology for technology's sake. Librarians now need to build weblogs and wikis if they want to stay networked and current with the needs of today's patrons. John Reimer and Chip Nilges mention the need to add tagging to library collections.
I don't disagree with any of these gentlemen. Most of the librarians I know are trying to keep up with the technology and trying to take advantage of the web opportunities that are out there. But at the same time public schools, and probably private ones, battle with their districts over blocked sites. YouTube and blogs are great but not when you can't access them.This is challenging and exciting time to be a librarian. The way I see it, libraries have the best of both worlds - books AND technology.