Thing #16: Library 2.0

There are lots of good observations in the various articles that were posted. The article that resonated with me most was John Blyberg's. Web 2.0 tools are like any of the other tools in our professional kit: implementing them without a clear idea of why we're doing so is counter-productive. This is especially true in a time of shrinking budgets, when library staff are continually being asked to do more with fewer resources, and especially with fewer human resources.

Properly implemented, these tools should help us be more effective and efficient in what we do. A book talk presented to a half-dozen patrons is an expensive use of staff resources; record that talk and put it out as a podcast, and you have the potential to reach a large number of patrons for just a little more investment in staff time. Provide a way for readers to enhance your catalog with their own ratings and reviews, and hopefully you'll strengthen their connection to the library as well as provide a useful readers' advisory resource.

But there is a cost to implementing these tools, especially in terms of staff time, and so it becomes especially important to carefully choose what we do. Implementing change purely for the sake of changing is more likely to annoy the users we already have than to attract new ones. Providing a true enhancement to an existing service can improve the experience for existing patrons and attract new ones.