Finally, A Much Better Discussion

Library 2.0 - what does the term really mean? Honestly, I’ve followed the discussions in the library world for the past couple of years pretty closely, and I still have no idea. Neither do I think it is important to actually have a hard and fast definition. It is a label that I suspect means many different things to many different people - and should have different meanings. While I think that some of the discussions that have taken place around Library 2.0 have been important, I was extremely bothered by the subtle thread of hostility that often crept into the debates. There seemed to be some unspoken belief that Library 2.0 would save libraries and that if your weren’t on board, you would be contributing to the demise of the library. The 2.0 concept seemed to be one that had the ability to divide the library world into two separate camps rather than helping librarians work together to solve real problems.

To me, the recent discussions taking place about Library 2.0 are much more important. They are real, more honest - and I think they offer a better glimpse of reality in today’s library world.

Some of the posts:

This entry was posted on January 27, 2008 at 1:56 pm and is filed under library 2.0, library musings. 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.

One Response to “Finally, A Much Better Discussion”

  1. Meredith Says:
    January 27, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    So true! I’ve really been enjoying the discussions going on over the past two weeks because they’ve actually been a DISCUSSION instead of people talking over each other. We can all find things we agree on and things we don’t agree on, but we all realize that fundamentally, we have the same goals. Each person has brought up valid points and it’s not as if anyone is saying now “well, if you don’t agree with me 100%, you’re anti-change or you’re just plain wrong.” I don’t think any person above is wrong, even if our opinions happen to differ. Because, really, it’s all opinion and perspective.

    I think perhaps it’s because no one is being so dogmatic about Library 2.0 anymore… or at least the folks you link to above. It’s incredibly refreshing to be able to engage in a real dialog about this stuff. :)

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