Assignment #7, Part 2

"Away from the Icebergs" by Rick Anderson is I think basically asking us to step out of the "librarian box" and into the "Patron Box." As he says the time is coming where we will not necessarily need to build on our collection of print materials, I think, especially the non-fiction print materials, but we need to find ways that our patrons can access the information easily from the web at home. As Anderson says, patrons will expect to have access to everything -"digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts etc." He also feels that staff need to "eliminate barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need."
I agree in part with what Anderson says but there will be some challenges ahead. The library is a recreational service that we provide our patrons. There are still many patrons who like to read from hard copy and enjoy coming into the library to pick the books they want to read. As well, the library provides an opportunity for patrons in our small communities to have social interaction.
By providing easier access to patrons for material they need, I think the focus will be more for the younger generation who have grown up in the computer age. Our challenge will be to reach these people and introduce them to the new services that the libraries offer, that are geared to their needs.
We, as librarians, will need to find ways to make the assess of information as user friendly as possible and only a click away.

Power from the People: Assessing the New Online Participatory Tools for Your Organization by Colin Delany

In this article Delaney goes through many tools that are available for organizations. One critical thing that he does say when discussing the pros and cons of the tools such as blogs, online video, rss feeds, social networking, social media, viral marketing, is that one has to have the time to update, the skills to implement, and in some cases the money to develop. For each tool, he discusses what each tool is capable of and then gives one guidelines to determine if the tool is worthwhile and feasible for your organization.
This was a good article for me to read as it gave me a little better understanding of the tools that we have already been introduced to. I still have the nagging question though as to how the library can implement some of these tools with the limited resources we have(time and staff) to make them useful for the patrons that we serve. One tool that I thought may have some merit was the use of Social Media. This could help to bring the comunities we serve and the libraries on the same page. The community could submit video clips of community events or on the community and we could post them. In this manner as Delaney says,"Participating ties them to you and your issues at an emotional level." By contributing to our website, they are showing their confidence in us as an organization.
Other tools such as Viral marketing would be too risky for our organization. Too many things could go wrong and would or could devalue our organization.

To More Powerful Ways to Co-operate by Chip Nilges
Basically I think the message that Nilges is trying to say in his article is that libraries need to band together to provide one database for everyone. By using the web as the platform, patrons and all libraries would have access to the same information. "Open Worldcat" is being used by the OCLC to help them integrate collections and services into one Web space. It is hoped that they will be able to expand the database in ways that will keep pace with the constant evolving of collections.
I think that this could be a very valuable tool for the libraries. The co-operation with reciprocal agreements and ILL has been a great value to our libraries. We need to look at ways to expand this service and to make it easier for patrons to access the same information.


In conclusion, these articles were very informative and gave me much food for thought. I do feel that the structure and the availability of library materials will always be a need for our patrons as they perceive libraries as a form of recreation and as a social venue. But, libraries need to expand their services into the information network of the web. How to do that to make it worthwhile and effective is the challenge that we as service providers are faced. For myself, I hope that the social interaction of the patron and the library continues and that our organization does not get swallowed up into cyberspace.