Thing #14

So I'm back tracking a little to finish up Thing #14, my thoughts on Library 2.0.

I first read through the article by Rick Anderson, Away from the Icebergs. He talks about changing our collection to meet the needs of customers. Even moving away from such a large collection of print material when so much is available over the web. This reminded me of the many papers I wrote in college. One of the main factors that determined if I used an article was whether or not I could get the full text online. I could search whenever, not just when the library was open. I also could find article so much more quickly. Online all the articles where right there, I could read part of it right away and decide if I wanted to use it. If I had been dealing with print resources I would have had to hunt down every article then decide if I could use it, taking hours.

I think that Library 2.0 definitely offers more of an online collection of books. Reference, fiction, pictures books...everything.

I also read the article by Wendy Schults, To a temporary Place in Time. The interesting concept I took away from this article was the idea that even though the library offers many service that there were still be people that come into the library. Like many stores, while some people shop online, others shop at the brick and mortar store. And some customers shop both. How great would it be if we could offer the same service as Circuit City (or is it Best Buy), you order it online and can come pick it up in a half hour. Technically, that only happens here if you make a phone call. We should look into how we can make it an online application.

Both the online collection of books and a quicker order and pick up system would enhance customer service, allowing customer to get their materials faster, extending a Library 2.0 environment here at CML.