Rick Anderson's article was interesting and I agree that much of our print reference resources need to go. I also agree with his "one button commands" idea for user-friendly service. He states that libraries neet to integrate their services into the daily patterns of work, study and play, but doesn't offer any suggestions.
Michael Stephen's article seemed vague to me. I understand, however, his need to not purchase technology just because it is new, and I like his rather democratic way of determining what technology to purchase.
Chip Nilges discusses WorldCat which should be of great interest to all of us. Once WorldCat gets rolling, Inter-Library loan will take on a whole new meaning.
John Riemer kinda lost me, but then again, my eye glaze over when cataloging is mentioned.
Wendy Schultz makes it clear that 2.0 will not be the end all be all of technology.
My conclusion after reading these articles in regards to rural areas is as follows:
None of this technology amounts to a hill of beans unless high speed is offered to rural areas. Once outside the towns in Caroline County (and even in some towns), citizens are stuck in the dark ages of dial-up. This effectively eliminates them from anything mentioned in the articles. It is a real problem that should be addressed by government and the internet service providers. A modern day version of the rural electrification project of the 40's and 50's should be offered by both to provide vital high speed access to all of this technology. Could this happen anytime soon? With the current administration in Washington, two words sum it up: fat chance
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2 comments:
This is true - even if you do have broadband (correct term?), you may as well have dial up, because even our high speed internet has issues in this area. It seems like our internet providers over here have more issues than they can effectively deal with. Meanwhile, they charge you exorbitant monthly fees for the same service you could get from dial up. If our patrons are having the same problems at home that I have, then I can't imagine there will be a need for OUR libraries to be in such a rush to keep up with Web 2.0.
You are absolutely right, Richard. I think the technologically "elite" often forget that they are not in the majority, and I think the figure is that only 1% of humans own a computer. If you do have a computer with broadband, you tend to think the entire earth does as well. But there really is a huge "digital divide". It's like back in the day, I bet Caroline County was one of the last places to get regular telephones!!
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