Away from the "icebergs" or where's global warming when you need it

A paraphrase, with apologies to mothers everywhere, "technology is as technology does."


I am enjoying the whole 2.0 learning experience. Many of the "things" are things I wouldn't have tried otherwise and I'm glad to have the opportunity thrust upon me to check them all out. Though I may not have liked everything I've tried so far, on balance I think these are good tools for libraries to use in achieving our customer service goals. But it seems to me that there are a number of people out there who are confusing the tools with the goals and making acquisition and use of the tools an end in itself.


There are wonderful things available via computer. Newspaper and journal archives are now available online or in databases rather than clumsy microfilm rolls and readers. Historical photos and documents and public domain texts are available on sites from the National Archives, Library of Congress, Project Gutenberg and others. Not to mention the just plain fun stuff, like IMDB (which I use almost daily!). I work on a couple of the library's tech committees and have taught Youth Services' database training class almost every year since it began. But there are still bits of information or even entire topics of information that aren't well represented outside of the traditional print world. And, working in youth services where some of the homework research assignments can be quite surprising and not a little obscure at times, I'm a big fan of the "just in case" collection and use it often. And print resources are universally accessible in a world with people on two sides of a technical divide. No special equipment, programs, or technical expertise needed.

I love the technology. I just hope we don't confuse the media with the message, the tools with the goal.