Week 6 Thing 15

There was a lot of reading concerning Library 2.0 and I actually read all 5 perspectives. With much of my life focusing on cooking, I'll have to say that the articles provided a lot of "food for thought". The basic premise of the collection is that times are changing and libraries will have to make changes in order to be useful in the future. Speaking for BCPL I believe it is making serious efforts to be ready for that future. Express-checkout, RFID, online renewals and holds, the availability of research databases and web resources, ILL, WiFi, e-Books, etc. are great in-roads. Individual libraries are working to reconfigure collections and floorplans to meet customer demands for materials and wireless accommodations. I think BCPL's best effort is in working to provide information and training to its staff to get them ready for the future. The Maryland 23 Things has been an excellent opportunity for us to be exposed to the latest in technological developments and how they can be put to use. (However, my mind does get slightly boggled when I try to imagine the bandwidth requirements to meet the needs of all these technological advantages!)

I have to say that I did enjoy the Library 4.0 neo-library vision of "knowledge spa": "a WiFREE space, a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light , coffee and a single malt." Personally, they can do without the coffee (the smell makes me throw up) and the single malt (I think the patrons would throw up)!

My final comment on Thing 15 is that I LOVED the YouTube video "The Machine is Us/ing Us". I found it entertaining and informative (even if it did force me to read really, really fast). It made me look forward to the day when/if I get enough skills to be "teaching the machine".