Library 2.0 for Naysayers Like Me - Tennant: Digital Libraries

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Roy Tennant

Library 2.0 for Naysayers Like Me
November 28, 2007

People who know me know that I've not been a big fan of the "Library 2.0" movement. Not that I don't believe that some of the things that L2 proponents urge us to do aren't good things, but I don't believe at least some of these things are all that new and others I have yet to be convinced are important for libraries to be doing. So when I listened to Meredith Farkas' keynote address at the Academic Library 2.0 Conference at UC Berkeley, "Building Academic Library 2.0", I was coming to it with some skepticism.

But Meredith describes a view of L2 that I can get behind, which does not surprise me given our conversations about L2 and her awareness that libraries were weathering -- and even leading in some areas -- major changes long before L2 came along. Her practical viewpoint means that she holds every technology up to the mission and priorities of libraries, and not all of them pass muster. Plus, she presents all of this it in a totally engaging way. As a fellow speaker it makes me want to weep. She makes it all look way too easy to be an engaging, articulate, and funny speaker. I've called her a stone cold natural born writer, but now I need to add "and speaker" to that sentence.

Bottom line, if you've been an L2 skeptic like me, take a look at Meredith's take on it. You may not be ready to swallow the complete L2 line, but there are certainly things that some sweep under the L2 banner that are well worth our time and attention, and you could do a whole lot worse than letting Meredith be your guide.

Posted by Roy Tennant on November 28, 2007 | Comments (2)

December 12, 2007
In response to: Library 2.0 for Naysayers Like Me
K.G. Schneider commented:

I wrote you privately but I'll put this online. I have no doubt that Meredith gave an excellent presentation. But you didn't need to take such a broad and diffuse swipe against all things 2.0 in order to make that point. I know a lot of librarians in the trenches promoting commonsense 2.0. Sure, there's some fluff out there, as there is in any movement. But labeling yourself as a 2.0 "naysayer" makes me wonder if you need to take a road trip and spend a few weeks in real libraries where librarians are patiently (or not so patiently) trying to coax the library into this century. There are many, many "practical" librarians out there chipping away at monoliths. Please be careful about adding your voice to "naysaying." We get enough of that in LibraryLand.

December 12, 2007
In response to: Library 2.0 for Naysayers Like Me
Roy Tennant commented:

Karen, given your criticism I've read over this post and have a hard time seeing the blanket negativity you seem to see. In fact, I felt like I was fairly clear that a number of the specifics that are swept under the "L2" banner I can get behind, but that doesn't mean I've drunk the Kool-Aid. I have a hard time figuring out how I can make my post more nuanced that it is, although I will admit that my title is perhaps more provocative than it should be. I will admit to trying to go for an intriguing title rather than a nuanced one. Your suggestion to go on a road trip is certainly a good one, although I wonder if I won't simply find a different version of the fight I was fighting in the mid-80s-90s to bring my institution into the Internet age. The more things change, the more they stay the same.