What does the library of the near future look like?

I have been guilty of thinking about librarians as the people who just love reading - the book worms. The protector of books and paper based technology. I am wrong. Librarians are the information gurus. They are lovers of information and their skill lies in being able to access information from visual, audio and text media. Much of this material is now best available via electronic means. This is the first implication for libraries and librarians and the immediate challenge for them.

Just as many libraries and librarians are starting to come to terms with this comes the next issue. We are on the verge of the next internet revolution. The reincarnation of the web into what people are calling Web 2.0.

The web, as people currently see it, can be termed as Web 1.0 This involves the use of email, search engines, instant messaging and relatively static web sites.

Web 2.0 involves a range of new technologies that is very much evolving as we speak. A list of some of these technologies is below (from http://www.imakenews.com/sirsi/e_article000505688.cfm?x=b6ySQnR,b2rpmkgK)

• RSS (really simple syndication)
• Wikis
• New and revised programming methods like AJAX and APIs
• Blogs and blogging
• Commentary and comments functionality
• Personalization and “My Profile” features
• Personal media such as Podcasting and MP3 files
• Streaming media audio and video formats
• Reviews and user driven ratings
• Personalized Alerts
• Web Services
• Instant messaging and virtual reference including co-browsing
• Folksonomies, Tagging, and tag clouds
• Photos (e.g. Flickr, Picasa)
• Social networking software
• Open Access, Open Source, Open Content
• Socially driven content
• Social bookmarking (such as Delic.io.us)
  

Web 2.0 is very social and is focussed on delivering higher levels of interactivity. It fits more perfectly with constructivist learning than Web 1.0 and Web 1.0 has been pretty cool for this. The challenge for libraries will be to assist people with accessing and creating information in these social and collaborative environments. It will involves becoming expert in the use of a whole plethora of tools.

I concur with South Oz E-learning in recommending a read of http://www.imakenews.com/sirsi/e_article000505688.cfm?x=b6ySQnR,b2rpmkgK . It is written by Stephen Abram of SirsiDynix. He writes about the need for Librarians to start getting ready for Web 2.0.

Think about these issues as we consider the deployment, training and recruiting of library staff – our information gurus.

Think about this as we restructure the physical resources within our libraries. Why will people need to go to a physical place called a library?

Shopping Centres with Libraries

Shopping Centres with Libraries

What is FLOSSE Posse up to? I think they need to define Library. My perception of a library is a place with fiction books and lots of computers connected to the internet. This is basically a free internet cafe (without the coffee) with novels.

Australian IT - Copyright makes web a turn-off (Simon Hayes, FEBRUARY 28, 2006)

Australian IT - Copyright makes web a turn-off (Simon Hayes, FEBRUARY 28, 2006)

SCHOOLS have warned they will have to turn off the internet if a move by the nation's copyright collection society forces them to pay a fee every time a teacher instructs students to browse a website.

What a joke. This could be the best thing to happen to Australian schools for a while. The days of prescribing specific references whether they be books or websites should be dead anyway. If we are to be treating the pipe as having any importance we must have a focus on developing students ability to beat a path to the information and tune their crap filters. We can direct students to a series of bookmarks to help them get started on a research theme if their research skills are needing some crutches.

Bring it on - you are probably doing Australian education a huge favour and the people that are arguing that it will be the end of the internet in schools obviously haven't heard of constructivism let alone connectivism.

Online Teens as content creators

PIP_Teens_Content_Creation.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Interesting study of online teen behaviour and attitudes relating to copyright, content creation, rip-mix-burn, blogging,..