Library Revolution

Many librarians who have been in the ‘biz for a while ask me the very valid question of why they should bother becoming involved in social networking outlets…

They’ve been there, done that, tried new things with enthusiasm only to see technologies, trends, interfaces and applications come and go. They’ve invested themselves into learning new things, and they’ve lived to regret committing themselves to what turned out to be transitional technologies or even passing fads.

So why jump on the social bandwagon now by getting involved with MySpace et al, Wikis, Blogging, YouTube, Twitter, Second Life, and so on? If they’re not already “so five minutes ago,” won’t they be soon?

Maybe. Probably. Certainly, in the case of specific communities and software applications. But we should get involved nonetheless.

Do I think Second Life is going to be here forever? No way. But I applaud the efforts of the info island folks and all of the other library and education initiatives going on there. By trying something new (and fun, really!) they are opening their minds to possibilities that have yet to be invented or programmed. And they’re bringing new ideas into the professional conversation.

BTW: Here I am…. I’m not too artistic, but I think she looks like me. Almost. But several pounds lighter.

Here are my top 5 reasons for getting involved in whatever trends we can, even if it amounts only to learning about it, trying it once, and moving on:

1. It will help build your confidence to try something new and experiment. The main barrier to trying new things that I sense in library staff is a lack of confidence. Try something new now, and feed off of your own success!
2. Some of these fads are likely to “stick” in one way or another, right? Or at least elements will live on in new incarnations. When that happens, we’ll be ready to integrate the enduring elements more effectively because we’re already familiar with them.
3. You will build a knowledge base and transferable skills to be used when the next “next big thing” comes around. Sort of similar to # 2… but here I mean it will be easier to learn a completely new technology or interface when it rolls around if you already have a skill set developed using another interface. (Which relates to #1!)
4. You can engage in intelligent conversations with other information professionals about the trends in our field. This is not a small reason. I often encounter other library professionals who can’t easily converse about the trends in their own profession. Embarrassing for them, discouraging for me.
5. Ideas often come from unexpected places… and people. The “next big thing” in your library just might be born out of your involvement in otherwise passing trends.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Library Technology, Social Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.