Thing 2...point oh?

Okay, first off, let me announce my alliance with those who don't like the name Library 2.0. I DO, however, like some of the definitions I've read, about keeping libraries relevant, staying up on technology and giving our patrons and staff more "room" to communicate ideas. It's obvious, I think, for any library staff who see the public using our Internet computers that (especially) the younger generation is using technology to communicate, and that that in turn is opening up huge possibilities for how we can/should/could join the conversation or start one of our own.

However, I have to say that in the small town where I work (population under 1000) there are also quite a few rural/elderly/unemployed/poor folk who have not joined the online conversation and don't want to. What they want to know is why they can't apply for a job with a good, old fashioned piece of paper instead of a keyboard, why they have to create an email account just to get a brochure and why, ohwhyohwhy, that bloody mouse can't figure out if it wants to be clicked one time or two.

I can count on my work as a branch manager at a rural library to keep me enthused, entertained, and optimistic. It also keeps issues of the division between the haves and have-nots front and center. And this is not just my patrons that I'm talking about. We have one Internet station for public use. We have one computer for staff use. This is not enough on either point. My concerns do not go unheard -- I know that admin at GRRL recognized the need. But where will we find the funds? We're cutting thousands from our collection budget even as it looks like we may, in the not too distant future, have to re-purchase our video collection because the powers that be(and want to make more millions) have decided to go with Blu-Ray and let good ol' DVD become obsolete.

So yes, the possibilities are enormous. The ideas are exciting (I LOVE the idea of having a way for patrons to post their reviews of library materials on the catalog or elsewhere. How COOL would that be! And, wow, if I could find the time, how fun it would be to talk back to them). But I am worried about pursuing the new and the future so much that we become irrelevant on the other end.

Libraries can be the great equalizer, providing resources for those who have the least. At the same time, technology can make the world a bit schizophrenic when it is gets too much attention. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa from 1990 to 1993. I know there are cell phones and Internet cafe's there now (which blows my poor mind). I also know that while my life has become only more rich and blessed, many of my Togolese friends have died of malaria, malnutrition, inadequate health care or AIDS. I've looked at current PCV's blogs and You-Tube video essays and I realize that those cell phones and Internet stations haven't reduced the misery in Togo, only made it easier for the wealthy to ignore and the cynical to complain. I look at the economic situation in the US, the struggles of the working class and poor, and as much as I like new-fandango-gizmos (and yes, oh yes, I like them very much) I get itchy about how they call to us to follow them, put our hopes, energy and enthusiasm in their high-tech pockets. I get so very itchy.