Thing # 15 Web 2.0, Library 2.0

I understand and respect the need for Library 2.0. All of us certainly have to keep up with the latest and greatest, and there will always be a need for that. This course is doing an excellent job of helping us become aware of the many changes in technology and how it affects our lives now and in the future. It seems the current favorite saying these days is that children, that are in school now, will be working at jobs that don't even exist at the present time. I don't think that is anything new. Jobs that we are working in now didn't exist 20 years ago either. Ask your grandmother, or even your mother, about all of the changes that have occurred in the last 10 or 20 years. That is the way of the world.

I think keeping up with Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 are preparing all of us for the changes that will be occurring and are occurring at the moment. However, I don't think that this means that we need to get rid of everything from the past as if it served no purpose. Sometimes it seems to be a little of "throwing the baby out with the bath water." Many of the ideas in these perspectives are valid, and I think most of them pertain to public libraries and possibly middle school/high school libraries.

Certainly students younger than this should be exposed to many of the new services and technology that a library can offer. But, I don't think that we will ever drop the need for cultivating a society that needs to learn how to read and to comprehend what they are reading--to be excited about all of the things they can learn. As I drove around this week, on the many detours in the Memorial area, I drove by at least 5 Spring Branch schools. Everyone of them had slogans on their marquees reminding students to read, read, read during the summer, because they know that this is still the best way for our culture to stay ahead of the education game. These were not just elementary schools either. I agree that we need to be aware and educated about all things Web related, but let's not forget that there are many other areas of education that should not be ignored.