Thing #15-Web 2.0, Library 2.0

I selected Rick Anderson's article "Away from the Icebergs" to post some thoughts about. He posted 3 ideas that libraries must move away from in order to embrace the Web 2.0 environment.

1. The just in case collection. I agree that in general getting print materials "just in case" a patron needs it, without consulting other factors, is not the way to go. I think it's even more of a challenge for librarians, especially in this economic and technological changing times, to decide how to get the information for the collection that patrons need-print or electronic. Many factors need to be taken into consideration. In some cases there is no choice as some reference materials are no longer in print. But in some cases, the print verison is up to date and is easier to use than a web based format. And some materials are not in an online version, so it is foolhardy to think everything can be gotten (for free!) on the web. Thus libraries are needed to purchase information whether it be print or electronic.
2. Reliance on user education. I agree that looking at the librarian to patron ratio there is no way to educate every single user how to do research. But that's not to say that bibliographic instruction classes are a bad idea! While I agree that making things as user friendly as possible is the best route to go, making things so user friendly that they are useless is also a bad idea!
3. The "come to us" model of library service. I agree that librarian do need to "go to" the user where they are. We do a lot of that through our catalog/databases, phone reference service, chat and e-mail refererence etc. We also send out notices electronically through e-mail. With either the Internet or phone the library can be reached. But I also think that patrons still have a need to "come to us." There is something to be said for the "live" person to person interaction helping a patron find a book, use the catalog, use a database, use a print source, perform a search, find information, etc!