Thing Number Fifteen - Library 2.0

Library 2.0 means a continuation, a never-ending exploration of ideas, technologies and information service models that I first encountered at the University of Michigan School of Information's evolving program during the years 1994 to 1997. In the first class that created the Internet Public Library, under the leadership of Joseph Janes, we debated how to build a public library on the Web. What would it be? What would it look like?

Library 2.0 is firmly rooted in the traditional principles of librarianship, including equal access to information, efficient design to enable that access, and emphasis on user-driven services. As collaborative Web technologies continue to develop, creative professionals in supportive library systems are still asking how library services can benefit users in these new environments and are creating resources that answer the question.

This evolution is the theme of the article by Dr. Wendy Schultz,
To a temporary place in time...
On the way to the library experience of the future
"This too shall pass: The ongoing Library 2.0 debate frames library renewal within the current trends transforming our information infrastructure. But those trends themselves will evolve, even mutate, under pressure from emerging change. A futures perspective asks us to reconnect this dialogue to the grand sweep of time from the treasured past to the adventure of the future—and to put people and meaning at the center of our concerns."