Reflections on Chapters 1

This Book Is Overdue:

 I must say I was struck by how amusingly well-written this book is. I dare say it reads like a novel, but instead of chacters, settings, plots, and token artistic pretensions, we are fed compelling real-world information. For this alone, Marilyn Johnson receives the highest kudos from me. Johnson (a former obituary writer no less) has obviously done extensive research here as she cites the stories of numerous librarians from around the country. Anyway, I'm rambling like a slacker who's only read the back cover, on to Chapter One! The thing that struck me most surprising in the first chapter is the fact that librarians have been such innovators in the world of research and technology. Fred Kilgour, for example, started out with the first system to combine his library's catalogue into a computerized database. This little innovation in turn snowballed into a phenomenon that would become the standard practice of all libraries around the globe. Another little revelation for me, the fact that librarians for small towns around our nation are often the source of information for local history. Jeanette Moodie, the librarian for Deadwood, South Dakota maintains a literal vault of the towns extensive history and stands as the "outlet" through which local history is obtained. Quite a change from the cliche of stuffy old women who silence talkers as they brood behind a desk!

Library 2.0:

 Ok, admittedly, I'm not as affectionate toward this text as the previous, but the first chapter of Library 2.0 and Beyond does have some interesting points about the advance of technology and research. Although there doesn't seem to be one set definition for Web 2.0 (as this phantom technology movement is titled by many) I have a tendancy to lean toward Tim Berners-Lee's concept of it as a connecting of people via technological advances. As stated in the chapter, it's not so much a revelation of technology's use by society, but rather the continuing evolution of technology and society connecting to share information. This is largely via the internet and social websites (Facebook, Ebay, Yahoo, Wikipedia etc.) that exist to share information with people from all walks of life. Then, there is the term Library 2.0 which applies much the same principles of sharing information via technology to the library system. Again, like Web 2.0 the term Library 2.0 is also a subject of debate. T. Scott Plutchak for example even goes as far as to call Library 2.0 a "meaningless" term. Personally, while I don't consider the term itself to be meaningless I do lean toward his idea that technological advances in the library system are not a "radical" change but rather a continuing evolution, much like Web 2.0. Either way libraries are definitely a center of change in the on-going passage of technology into our daily lives.