As part of exercise 15 I read the chapter in the Library Technology Reports Sept./Oct. 2007 publication on Technology Trends for a 2.0 world. I had mixed feelings reading it. I could see wonderful vistas opening up for libraries, but I also felt exhausted just thinking of trying to keep up with all that is out there.
I could definitely relate to the concept of encouraging the participation of patrons in the life of the library. I did find the idea of camera phone pictures being posted willy nilly a little daunting. We have all had patrons who are less than rational with us, and the thought of them having this forum to shout their displeasure to the world is a little daunting.
On the other hand, the idea of using YouTube to advertise the library is exciting, and we're beginning to work on that now.
Ways to make our catalog more inclusive are very intriguing. I think it will come down to how easy it is for non-techies to implement that sort of thing. Many of our libraries to have IT departments, and even those of us who do usually have to share them with the rest of the city/county, so ease and cost will be important factors I believe.
Everything I've read and explored thus far in 23 Things seems to lead to other things--all very exciting but somewhat overwhelming. I'm afraid I could spend so much time exploring that I wouldn't actually get anything done! Presumeably there's some kind of happy balance that we'll all have to find.
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