Web 2.0

Thing 15 - This is getting harder because now I have to think.

We are to comment about articles dealing with Web and/or Library 2.0.

Growing up in libraries for most of my life, I have seen how the library life has evolved.  In elementary school I helped to shelve books and stamped a card with the due date for check-outs.  This pretty much was how it worked throughout junior and senior high and college. When my children were young and we went to the library, there were some programs for them, but not like today.  

The library has always been and is still a place to find information. The mechanics of acquiring that information has undergone a major transformation, though.  How fast we retrieve answers depends now on band width.

About 10 years ago, Arbutus library received a grant for 6 computers from a program funded by Bill Gates.  I volunteered to help patrons to acclimate themselves on the computers and show them how to use the applications installed on these computers.  At that time most people were getting themselves used to the concept of cutting and pasting.  A lot of the facts on the internet could be dubious.  The information was only what someone had been able to type in. 

Today we have reference databases with certifiable information. Students have been known to cut and paste sentences into reports oblivious to plagiarism. We can instantaneously share ideas, pictures and a host of other useful or useless facts.  We expect instant gratification and we get it.  With RSS feeds we can check for updates on our favorite websites.  We can develop friendships thousands of miles away and go about our lives with minimal physical contact with others.

Doing the 23 Things has opened up the possibilities of what other have developed to aid us in communicating with each other.  We've come a long way.