I think Library 2.0 begins for Hartford Public Library when we open our online services to customer interaction--it could be on our website, or on HartfordInfo or our OPAC. The options are plentiful. The challenges will be how to balance the input with the need for control. We've always maintained patron privacy . . . what about if patrons elect to be public with user profiles? And seek to share their reading interests with other customers through booklists? What if users want to tag in HartfordInfo and locate other customers who share an interest in the same tags?
Something else that seems to have gone by the wayside is permissions . . . is there any discussion about seeking permissions to post information/photos/videos of others? It appears not.
And advertising . . . . the Library has kept its distance from advertising. Customers do not need to question if a commercial interest is pushing the information. Is it possible to integrate the 2.0 tools without the advertising?
Food for thought. Not barriers to implementation. Just proceed with caution.
1 comment:
Today's library is about the user experience. Our efforts to assure customer privacy always have been whether the customer wants us to or not. We are in control. We need to offer our customers options. If they opt to be public, then that should be fine with us. We still can review and moderate comments and delete what is inappropriate (for exammple, hate speech). Disagreeing with a customer's viewpoint, however, should not be a reason for removing a comment. An example, would be if a customer really disliked a book chosen for a reading program and wrote a post about it. Ideally, that post would begin a conversation about the selection. I think we have to be willing to give Web 2.0 a try. So many other libraries have -- I think we are falling behind in this. I hope HPL culture is ready to implement Web 2.0, but I believe an, at least, perceived relinquishment of control will prove problematic. -- Pomfretgirl
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