#15 Library 2.0 and where 2.0?

Read all of these perspectives - yes, clearly it's about adaptability, being able to do that quickly, with some (but not endless) reflection. The whole Library 2.0, Web 2.0 thing reminds me very much of all that research way back which told us that, when seeking information, the first source for most people was a friend or someone they thought knowledgeable. Libraries weren't ever right up there at the top though we have always been able to rely on the "trusted" label when it comes to information. And as the social networking phenomenon and online communities of interest have the potential to bring people with knowledge about the same things together, maybe we do need to think about which of these new technologies really can help us adapt to where people are. Maybe we do have to stare this thing in the face. There are other information experts out there - members of the public who are very knowledgeable about their area of interest - and they can potentially answer each others' questions if they are connected in an online community . . . can't they???

As for the OCLC experts, I found myself being a bit irritated by the guy who kept referring to himself as "this librarian" and wondered what was wrong with the first person pronoun? So for me, the style thing got in the way of what were otherwise fair enough points.

Wendy Schulz's short analysis of web history - interesting. The Library in its 4.0 incarnation as knowledge spa? The idea of an augmented reality where the physical and the virtual merge and we can bathe (basically) in it - am not sure that I will want to.

So . . . am I just an old dog? do I apply for a departure package? do I just blog on . . .

#14 Technorati

Checked out Learning 2.0 as exercise requested and . . .

In blog posts 3, 199 hits
In tags, no number, just a message that said "everything in the known universe about Learning 2.0". Did I do something wrong or is that just a very big number?
In the Blog Directory, 569 blogs about Learning 2.0.

Looked at Popular ones and don't get it. Especially why this one is rated #10. And also why cats get so much air-time. And also why it has the name it has. I won't give up on getting it yet - I'll explore more tomorrow when I am more awake.

Tagging and del.icio.us

George and I have had a good look at del.icio.us and are now deciding if it's good enough to eat. The PLCMC Learning 2.0 list of del.icio.us things is long and scary and it's a bit interesting to see how people tag things, I spose. I created an account because I can see the value of being able to get at your bookmarks from anywhere and being able to share them. Just a note on the scary side again though - the Go2Web2 directory in the PLCMCL2 list had been tagged by 13,272 people all thinking that the hundreds and hundreds of logos labelling places you can go to do web 2.0-ey things was something they needed to hold on to. Places like: Vringo, Vayama, Siphs, Deezer, Bravisa, Noteske, Gyminee, Nymbler, WizLite, FooWHo - where I could share my mobile videos, solve my international travel, earn money from my own marketplace, take notes online, track my personal fitness, or have a personal baby name assistant (what would I do here? Share conversations about why I named MaryLou MaryLou?)

[And just when George was feeling a little brain-dead absorbing the myriad possibilities, and trying to imagine which of these really could improve the quality of her life (not to say some of them mightn't) the world opened up! There was MyDogSpace, the community network for dogs. Well, this is the place for us; we've landed - as the label says, you can "do it all in a very lovely community". Sigh!!!]

#12 Rolling over, lying down

I rearranged my page elements here and then Rollyo-ed again. Must be doing something wrong - it doesn't seem to work. What should I be expecting here? I thought I could search for "stuff" . . . Patient advice needed.

Rolled my own but . . .

haven't really used it yet. George and I are way behind in our explorations so have to get on to number 13. We have no time for free undirected frolicking (ie normal healthy bone-strengthening physical exercise) - it's all online explore, explore, explore . . . sigh.

The LibraryThing thing

Skipped #9 - looked at all the things I could make but haven't time or inclination right now. I have checked out LibraryThing and picked the first 12 books on one shelf - despite being a Virgo-girl-Librarian my home collection is in extremely random disorder. LibraryThing could possibly be a useful way to know all the books I have in my library - one day. Maybe Library 4.0 or Third Life will transcend time and dimensions and actually get them in order on my shelves for me without any effort on my part?

#9 - Sniffin' around

George and I reckon that the all-time ultimate list of library and librarian blogs would have to be John Hubbard's LISWiki site - it lists hundreds! And a quick sniff suggests we would rather have a good romp at the park than read many of them - thinking out loud might not have worldwide appeal. Anyway, LISWiki highlights the ones that have a Google PageRank of 7 or more but I don't get it - the ones where I find the reflections and comments useful aren't highlighted.

My favourites - in no particular order - are:
blyberg.net
David Lee King
Stephens' Lighthouse
Information Wants to be Free
and The Other Librarian - the guy who writes this has a really good post called We Asked for 2.0 Libraries and We Got 2.0 Librarians. This is well worth a read - important that we have some exposure to the "stuff" out there, so we can assess what's worth having.

And try The Annoyed Librarian on a bad 2.0 day, when you already have a huge load of stuff to do. (I can only get this done at home and each thing takes me at least an hour to really explore; someone else said they can do it in quiet moments on desk - not a bad idea!)

And if I had more time, what I'd like to do as an exercise is look at 20 libraries which have posted blogs on their websites and see just how much their communities are engaging with them. Presumably the "being where the users are" concept can be tested - if they are talking to us (ie commenting on, or engaging online in some way with a library blog), then the exercise is worth it. If they aren't, shouldn't we be asking questions?