Library 2.0 Curious

Here are some tentative thoughts and initial reactions about three of the articles I've read. I'd love to hear your comments.

O’Reilly – what is web 2.0.
I found this particularly useful for the first and last pages – overview and summary of web 2.0. I found the brainstorming results of web 1.0 vs 2.0 useful as a way of expressing an otherwise complex and not clearly defined concept. I also liked the 7 core competencies to help assess if a site is using web 2.0 technology / has that ethos. The discussion in the middle varies in usefulness – if you have used the websites then the comparisons are useful. Some of it was a little too technical for me.

One aspect from the article that I’m reflecting on is the “trust the user” aspect. I think that library workers are constantly having to justify their profession and fight against the “I don’t need the library I can just look it up on Google” mentality so we can tend to be critical of sites such as Wikipedia. My first reaction about that site was how can you trust the quality of the information but I can see that collective input has created a reasonably useful resource for quickly looking up some background info. These innovations are potentially threatening to traditional library services (particularly the perceived value of them to our users) so we will probably have to alter how we present our services and use new technologies to engage with users and maintain our relevance.

Ariadne article on web 2.0
An article that makes the link between web 2.0 and library services. I think it addresses the central issue about the changing relationships between library services and the changes in the web. Web 2.0 is partially about the move towards self-service and barriers to information being removed. What can library workers do to move away from the image (note I realise this isn’t how we view ourselves) of being guardians of information and break down the barriers to accessing information?

The amorality of web 2.0
In contrast to some of the praise / hype surrounding web 2.0 this article presents the argument that amateur isn’t better and that “collective intelligence” is often missing the intelligence. The problem is that, from a user’s perspective, “free trumps quality all the time” this is an issue that we often face in libraries (although you could expand this to include barriers other than cost such as form filling, passwords etc).