Wow! What an age we live in. I remember when I first started my course at Prahran TAFE the most technological thing we had to learn was the typewriter! Hasn't the world changed in the last 20 + years?
I remember going to Frankston Libray with my mother before I went to school, at the time the library was virtually divided down the centre one side was for the adults and the other side was for the children. If I had chosen my books before my mother came to me I had to just wait. It was just not done to go into the "adult" side. The other thing was the library had books...full stop. Naturally they used a card system too. Now you walk into a library adult and children's collections can be mingled, there are computers, talking books, CD Roms, videos, DVDs all these were not heard of not so many years ago. Libraries progress and staff have to too. It is that simple.
After progressing through 15 of the 23 things in Web 2.0 I have learnt so much and have to wonder what will happen in the future. Of course there will be changes in libraries but there will also be constants. Can you imagine snuggling up in bed with your PC? Nothing like a book to escape with. However the thirst for immediate knowledge is gaining momentum. People have mastered the art of Internet and realise that knowledge is only a "click" away, although some of that instant knowledge can be a little dubious. Due to the Internet people expect instant answers and therefore don't want a book the size of "War and Peace" to read through to find the snippet of detail that they are after. We in the library service must try to keep up with the advances in technology and be prepared to use what is available. If we as information deliverers aren't delivering it means we are failing ourselves and our customers / clients.
I think the biggest thing I have learnt doing this Web 2.0 course so far is just have a go. What is the worst that can happen? The more we learn and can see uses for the better people we become, both personally and professionally! Lets learn and pass on knowledge, it is a natural evolution.
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