Some Thoughts on Web 2.0/Library 2.0

Although I read the article on Web 2.0 with interest, I can't say I'm enthusiastic about the possibility that "You and your mobile devices...are always online, connected to one another and to the Web." I'm already "connected" more than I'd like to be and as much as I can afford to be, financially. My concern is that we have begun to assume that everyone has access to a computer and the Internet, and that's not really true. Computers are still a luxury item for many people, and Internet service has become increasingly expensive. Yes, computers witn Internet connections are available at most libraries, but there are only a limited number of computers available for a limited amount of time. I see the increasing "need" to be connected in order to access information as a way of making it more difficult for those who need the information most to get ahead in the world to actually get it. I also see the increasing "desire" to be constantly "connected" as a way in which many people become isolated from the joys of living in the real world with real people.

In reading the article on Library 2.0, I again had the feeling that we are being urged to spend even more time with a machine. The comment that "Libaries are not merely in communities, they are communities" is so true. Yes, libraries need to provide as much information as possible, but we also need to continue to provide a community where living, breathing people can meet other living, breathing people face-to-face, not in the cyberspace virtual world of a humming piece of machinery.