1st Reading

1st) OCLC report: Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers

This reading illustrated the change in consumers' demands. Before the great technology boom, people had access to limited content at their local libraries. Now, people want the answers to their questions immediately. Businesses responded to that demand by creating online databases. This article explained businesses plans on taking the content and downsizing it. Businesses charge less for smaller pieces of contents. More people, however, are accessing those smaller pieces of information. Businesses are making more money. Everything comes down to money.

Another important point of this article was "social publishing." Everywhere people are sharing their knowledge through blogs and websites. The article mainly focuses on blogs. It is amazing to know the amount of knowledge and information people are sharing through the internet. The internet has made the world a global community. People are now connected to the world almost twenty four seven through laptops and cell phones.

I really agreed with the end point of this article. Libraries need to find a way to compete with businesses by offering content and answers immediately through items like cell phones. People can do almost anything with a computer and access to the internet. We need to show them that libraries can help them find the quick accurate answers to their questions. By insuring accurate answers, we can compete with businesses that do not guarantee correct information. Since anyone can post on the web, not all information is accurate. Libraries should be known as a reliable accurate source.

2nd) Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture

This article explains the education system on technology needs to be updated. IT is no longer sufficient to only teach students to type. Students need to understand the information available to them in databases. They need to understand how databases work. To function in society, you need more than a basic understanding of computers. I agree with this author, but he fails to explain how schools would pay for this program. It is expensive to change a class curriculum. To teach students to type, you only need computers with basic word processor. To teach students databases, the school needs access to the source. To teach students about the world wide web, you need access to the internet. These items cost money. Only college libraries already have the databases available for students. It would not cost universities much more to introduce an in-depth class on the resource. To become more comfortable with the technology, however, it is better to be introduced at a younger age to the databases rather than university. I agree that school should work to include this into their curriculum. It might not happen overnight, but it is something to work for.

3rd) Lied Library @ four years: technology never stands still

This article explains the difficulties of starting and maintaining a technology library. I really liked this article because it gave specific details of dilemmas one library faced. IN addition, the author wrote on the Lied Library's solutions to divers problems with the hopes of of helping other libraries in similar situations. One of the biggest problems, the author mentioned was the lack of computers available to the students and community patrons. The library could not put in anymore PC because of limited space. They partially solved this problem by allowing people to check out laptops.

St. Francis University, my college, started a program in 2000 that issued a laptop to every undergraduate student. This insured there was never a computer shortage. This could be a possible solution for other university especially due to the continually decrease in cost for a laptop. Each library has to look at the cost of each action compared to the outcome. Giving a laptop to each students may not be cost efficient, but it never hurts to look into a possibility.