web 2.0 and library 2.0

Update:

Some related links you've seen elsewhere:
Stephen Abram on 2.0 resources
The Library 2.0 Bootcamp
Michael Stephens re: 2.0

And this great good quote (from The Goblin in the Library via Tame the Web): Library 2.0 really is "a DIY aesthetic and a manic demand to constantly change our libraries and our selves."

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I think my library is at aproximately "library 1.4". We do great work in terms of reaching out to staff and students (we're a smallish but busy college library), and we're making slow progress toward being an inviting place to spend time (we allow drinks now, but still no food or cell phones). I'd say our web presence ranks at about "Web 0.9" though. We've got a few online tutorials, but besides that it looks like we're old schoolin' straight outta 1996.

And you know what?

That's okay. Our web sites do what they need to, and we work hard enough in real-time person-to-person contact to more than make up for any lack of virtuality.

Would I like to see an RSS feed at least? IM Reference? A wiki for patron use? Stuff like that? Sure. But is it oh-my-god-i-gotta-have-it-now necessary? Hardly.

The most important part of the "Library 2.0" shift will happen on the ground, in the stacks, at the reference desk, and in daily interactions with daily patrons, and in a policy shift toward openness. It will be a real shift, requiring voice, touch, leg-work, and know-how. It's a shift in attitude and service toward greater accessibility, if I read things right.

I can't wait for my webmaster. Let it begin with me.

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Shushing: Sadly, polite & quiet cell phone users.
Reading: the bad news from Sudan