Web 2.0

The comments various people have made about Web 2.0 in relationship to libraries has been most interesting. Rick Anderson's "Away from Icebergs" comments seemed most out of touch with reality. For example, Anderson proposes the idea of getting rid of print material because he says everything is on the Internet now. This is inaccurate in many respects. Not only is there many printed items that have never been put on the Internet, there are many items that can only be accessed by paying for them. Moreover, there is no guarantee that a site will be there the next day, so it is in some ways even less reliable than print. Another incompletely conceived idea by Anderson is the idea that user education can be reduced by making computers more direct in interface operations. While librarians can sometimes change this, often they cannot, as they are typically stuck with the software interface that they have and the degree of modifications they can make on them is often minimal.

A Library 2.0 commentator who made more sense was Michel Stephens. In his article "Into a New World of Librarianship," he makes a observations that more technophiles should pay heed to: that technology should not be pursued just to be trendy, but should be pursued in sync with the librarian's mission and with the users needs in mind.