Web 2.0 is obviously about technology. But that's not why libraries should be interested in it. The more I hear the terms Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 thrown around, the more I start to wonder if the proponents even know what they are talking about. Simply touting technology without an eye to what you hope to do with it can have you looking like the parody of Hewlett Packard in a recent Onion video.
But Web 2.0 social software tools can be incredibly useful. There are many important reasons that libraries should be adept with social tools. For one thing if librarians go where their patrons or potential patrons are, they will find new marketing opportunities. Meeting Millennials at Facebook, Reddit, or Pintrest can paint librarians as approachable and interested in the kinds of sites that potential patrons are using. Approachability and interest happen to be two of RUSA's categories for effective reference services. And certainly once libraries have a presence on these sites, they can offer innovative ways of providing services such as reference. For instance offering chats with reference librarians on Facebook, tapping the easy user participation of blogging sites like Tumblr, or creating a library wiki with entries about programming, services, collections, reference, etc.
Furthermore, in my experience, as the Internet grows, my exploration of it shrinks. I've noticed that over the last couple of years that I tend to tread the ground of only a handful of websites. My RSS reader means I don't have to stray too far into the jungles of the Internet. I only need to check my Gmail, my Google Reader, and my Facebook page to get many of the updates I'm interested in. It wasn't until I started to really cultivate my interest in libraries that I began to look at library webpages. If my use is exemplary at all, meeting patrons where they are may be the only way to bring many of them to library webpages. Furthermore, librarians can employ their skills to trailblaze the web. Librarians have long been leaders in aggregation: finding sources and contextualizing them. The web is certainly a shaggy world in need of such aggregation and social software offers intuitive and easy access points both for the trailblazers and users. Social software tools mean that librarians don't need web programming skills to curate the web. And our users don't need to scour the web far and wide to find our information -- we can link it to them where they already are Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, via RSS feeds, etc.
But the biggest reason that Web 2.0 has received so much hype is that it creates a level playing field. Anyone -- not just programming gurus -- can create content with 2.0 tools. Take for example the difference between Lead, South Dakota's Phoebe Hearst Library webpage and their Facebook presence. (after the jump)
