Library 2.0 (Thing 2)

The concept of "Library 2.0" seems to be a catchy way to summarize that libraries are embracing and incorporating technological resources into their collections. I remember when I was growing up that the library was a place to go get books for fun, books for research and a place to stare at that weird machine that would let you look at old newspapers. As time went on (high school, college, bad after college jobs) the way the library looked kept changing. For example, the main library at the university I attended has changed it's look pretty dramatically. (or at least as dramatic as a state university can afford.) When I first started attending that university, the campus library had a few computers around, mainly for the catalogue and a one of the upper level floors had a small cluster of computers for students to use. Now, the first floor is part computer lab, part circulation desk and part coffee shop (ok that has nothing to do with technology but boy is it still excellent!). As things changed, the library had to adapt to those changes or become obsolete. Granted, students will always need print resources but one of the main draws of a library now is the access to computers. Public libraries have an even harder time drawing the crowds (well unless there's a recession but that's a whole other subject!) but thanks to a good amount of computers with Internet access, people do still make the trip to the library. This, in turn, does make circulation go up since people need something to look at while they wait for their time on the computers.
When I started working in a library about a year ago, I was rather surprised that the majority of questions I was asked were computer-related. Here I thought I'd be showing people where to find that new novel by David Baldacci (Ok, I wasn't that naive but I was really surprised). This was part of my motivation in doing these 23 things. I want to be able to answer these questions with confidence instead of smiling and say "Sure I can help you with that," but having my inner monologue saying "Oh poo, I have NO IDEA how to do that on that website!" Now, I know that library staff will never know how to do everything but with some good training and a little time to play with the new things we learn, we should be able to make everyone THINK we know everything.