IL 2006: Public Library 2.0: Emerging Technologies and Changing Roles

IL 2006: Public Library 2.0: Emerging Technologies and Changing Roles
Michael Stephens, Jenny Levine, Helene Blowers (filling in for Michael Casey)

IL2006

Jenny Levine began the talk by discussing the past year's progress with Library 2.0, and citing how many times words like "RSS," "social software," "wiki," and other Library 2.0 terms appeared in the IL program.

Michael Stephens talked about the April 2006 Newsweek issue on "Putting the 'We" in Web."  He talked about the types of RSS feeds available--Flickr streams, song streams,  etc.  We live online...  The term Web 2.0 has spawned other 2.0 terms: Church 2.0, Library 2.0, Law 2.0, etc.  What is "Librarian 2.0"?  In short, Librarians 2.0 plan for their users--involving users in all the decisions we make.  Librarians 2.0 are trendspotters.  Michael reemphasized that technology is a tool that lets us meet our users where they are.  He listed some things we can do to move toward a Library 2.0 model.

1) Market ourselves.  Starbucks is doing book discussion groups, being known as not only a place for coffee, but also a place for comfortable seating and people to work on projects together.  That is what we can do, for free, in a non-commercial environment.  Why don't people know this?  We don't market ourselves.
2) Break down barriers.  Do a signage audit, ensuring that rules have a real purpose and language is friendly.  Factors to consider when creating rules and policies.  Does it place a barrier between the user and the service?  Is it librarian-centered or user-centered in conception?  Does it add more rules to your bulging book of library rules, procedures, and guidelines?  Solicit comments in the library catalog.
3) Adopt the 2.0 Philosophy.  Plan for physical and online experience.  Wayne State University recently advertised for a 2.0 Librarian position--the new wave in recruitment.  Give a virtual tour of the library on Flickr (hey, include staff areas too!).  Have a gadget garage in the training room (like the Princeton Public Library), with equipment you can use in technology hands-on classes for staff.  Learn from the gamers--it's ok to make mistakes.  Discover new realms, like the Library 2.0 in the Second Life game.  Embrace Learning 2.0 (PLCMC's staff training program).
4) Create a Culture of Trust.  Trust your users.  Let them make comments.  Trust your staff.  If you don't, you will not have an innovative environment.  Michael's "5 Phrases I Hope I Never Hear in Libraries Again!": "We've always done it this way," "He/she is a roadblock to anything new," "The IT Department won't let us," "I dont have time for X," and "Our director doesn't like technology."
5) Plan, dream, and innovative.  Don't have crummy meetings.  Don't think of an idea and then not implement it because of fear and barriers.  Dream.  Play. Michael closed by saying "It's up to us." 
(Sarah's note: Michael said there would be six in this list, but somehow in my furious notetaking I think I combined two.)

Helene Blowers discussed her Learning 2.0 initiative.  She recommends sending staff to conferences to scout for potential speakers.  Her library, PLCMC, mission is Expanding Minds, Empowering Individuals, Enriching the Community.  Learning 2.0 began in August as part of their library's staff day, as a way to get staff familiar with Library 2.0 technologies.  There's not always a connection between training and learning, and this initiative wanted to go beyond training opportunities.  They wanted staff members to take responsibility for their own learning, and to reward them for doing so.  She emphasized over and over that this was not a training program--no workshops, no tutorial sessions, no handouts or cheatsheets.  They gave some basic information, made some suggestions on how to learn via exercises, and offered MP3 players to staff who finished the program with additional drawings for a laptop and a PDA. 
352 of their 542 staff have participated (this includes full and part time staff of all positions).  The 23 things they covered connect people via the internet, change the way people receive information and have conversations.  The topics covered: introduction, blogging, photos & images, RSS & Newsreaders, Play week, Tagigng and folksonomies, Wikis, Online applications and tools, Podcasts, Videos, & Downloadable audio.   Staff kept their own blogs chronicling their experiences during the program.  They gave an extra month of exploration time after the initial 9 weeks.  The whole program was built on free web-hosted sites and free software.  None of it required support from the library's IT team.  She noted the most three important learning exercises that staff benefited the most from.  The Seven and a Half Habits of Lifelong Learning, Reading on one of the five topics in OCLC's Perceptions Report, and reflecting on their learning journey at the end of the project.  In a survey of staff about why they participated, 40 or so said that the MP3 player was the reason, and 10 said their boss was making them.  The rest said that it was because they enjoyed learning about these new technologies and ideas.  Helene plans on leaving the Learning 2.0 blog up for other libraries to duplicate for their own training purposes.  This program allows staff to learn without having to travel to a training location, and the money saved there can be used to purchase the rewards to encourage staff to participate. 
What did she learn?  Her pieces of advice: Build the program for late bloomers.  Allow participants to blog anonymously.  Communicate weekly using 1.0 methods.  Focus on discovery and encourage challenges.  Encourage staff to use each other and work together.  Remember that it's not about acceptance or doing it right; it's about exposure.  Continually encourage staff to play.  Give staff the time and permission to learn, to grow, and to evolve.