Readings for Week 1

Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers

First off, while the idea of the "unbundling of content," is not new to me, I was surprised to find how popular it has become. I feel the whole idea of being more concerned about the content as opposed to the package the content comes in is something that will become wildly popular among younger generations. Yet the younger generations are not libraries only patrons. Having worked in a public library for the past two years, I saw an overwhelming amount of elderly patrons who have very little clue how to operate a computer. These patrons are much more inclined to want to use physical books, journals and microfilm, as opposed to learn to surf the web for information.
At the particular library I worked at, E-books were available and we were encouraged to suggest our patrons try them out. They still were not popular despite our attempts to advertise them. To read that their user rates are growing was surprising to me. Perhaps I am old fashioned in having believed that with so many people exposed to the glaring lights of computer screens during their workday, that they would be uninterested in pleasure reading by computer screen.
One other point I found fascinating was that people are so willing to pay for convenience, that at some point, people may very well be willing to pay small amounts of money for small amounts of information. It never occurred to me that people are inherently lazy, and if paying $.50 for a few paragraphs of specific information that interests them, or is of some use them, saves them a trip to the library, they'll be happy to dish the money out. In the long run, doesn't this just further the gap between the social classes? With information becoming more technological and personalized, eventually won't this leave out the lower class? Libraries are supposed to provide access to information. If they become focused on sending information to personal mobile devices, won't those who can't afford mobile devices eventually be left in the dust?

Lied Library @ 4 Years: Technology Never Stands Still

It is exciting that there are libraries out there who not only strive to stay on top of technological advances, but also has thus far been able to locate the money to do so. If only more libraries had that opportunity.
The public library I spent the last two years working at, was also attached to a public high school and the only library available to the students who went there. While Lied Library was a college library, I was still able to relate to their troubles trying to balance providing services to both students and the public. The library I worked at was a branch, but being newly built, it had the most PCs available, and the newest PCs available. This made it a library in high demand. With no time limit on computer use, our staff often had to deal with patrons or students unhappy at being unable to obtain a computer to use. Often students needed to do research or type papers, yet since we were a public library, it was against our policy to ask anyone who may just be playing computer games or emailing to step aside and allow the student to work. It was interesting to learn the different ways in which Lied Library was trying to provide the best services possible to its' students, while also providing services to the general public.

Information Literacy & Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture

I agreed with the author of this piece about how both forms of literacy are essential for individuals to be able to perform and succeed in today's society. Not being nearly as technologically savvy as I should be, it is a scary idea that having just the basics down, isn't enough anymore to secure a good job. How much information technology literacy does one have to have to function well in society?