Filed under: Uncategorized
(Reflections on Library 2.0 & Participatory Services)
“Don’t burn the library till you’ve read all the books” sings Michael Hutchence of INXS on their CD Welcome to Whenever You Are. But what if I don’t want to read all the books, you ask. Can I burn the library? Well, just wait a second. I will show you that libraries are more than ‘just’ books. Libraries are, actually, pretty cool places. You don’t believe me? Than take your laptop to your favorite chair, make yourself comfortable, and listen (well, read) what I have to say.
Ok, ready? Let’s start with the website everyone knows and likes, Amazon. I know you like reading the customer reviews too. And sometimes you even write one. Well, imagine that your library lets you do the same. Yes, you can easily comment on any book, CD, and DVD library has. And of course, you can read what other people think about them too. Really. Check out this link to see what people think about the latest Harry Potter book. Yes, there are 238 comments.
And did you hear about Bookspace? It’s a great place where you can ‘meet’ people and share with them your ideas. You can discuss your favorite books there, browse other people’s book lists, create your own, and share comments about books.
Now, thinking about it, do you know what is really cool? Podcasting. You can subscribe to library podcasts featuring movie and book reviews made by librarians and people like you. Yes, that’s right. If you come to the library you might get the chance to create your own podcast. And that is cool!
So, what do you think? Aren’t libraries great? Wouldn’t it be a shame to burn them down? And there is still much more cool stuff I didn’t mention. But I must go. You know, there is this Gaming On thing at my library going on today and I really want to get to play the Guitar Hero III.
