As I've pointed out in the past - I read a lot of blogs. I comment very infrequently ( I know I should do more ) and seldom trackback unless the urge to comment is so overwhelming that self-restraint eludes me and a flash of inspiration compels me to say something. Perhaps it was the asparagus last night? I don't know.
Regardless, I came across
David's post, Not a Destination, today and I had faith in the possibility ( no matter how remote ) that I could somehow expand and add value to his concept. In his post he talks about how the "web as a platform" concept applies to libraries.
Before web 2.0, people came to the library to do stuff at the library -
they came in to check out books, read magazines, do research, etc. Even
with computer use and the "old web," they still came to the library and
probably thought they were doing stuff at the library. The library was
a destination - a place to visit.But with the advent of web 2.0 and especially with the concept of web as platform, this has changed. Now, people come to the library to access the web... and then go somewhere else.
David says that they come to the library to use the computers to play Runescape, access their Facebook accounts or watch YouTube. But I have to ask myself if this is really the defining concept of the "web as a platform" that libraries really need to address?
Before I go any further I should point out that I know David, I read his blog and I think he has a lot of great things to say. This isn't a rant - it's more of an exploration into areas that I think libraries need to address in order to win back people that are migrating to social sites or using google to find whatever it happens to be on any given day.
