Hmmmm…. A lot to think about here. A lot of my reservations about “folksonomies” AKA “the hive mind” leap out at me from this article. I am too tired tonight to think coherently – but here it is for future reference:

DIGITAL MAOISM: The Hazards of the New Online Collectivism

At a recent conference day, many of us felt overwhelmed with new information and new technologies. I had just enough knowledge to grab onto Stephen Abram’s coat tails, hanging on for dear life as he flew through the world of Web/Library 2.0. The ride was exhilarating. But the very speed of these changes can be scary. Just when we were feeling competent with the Internet – look out – here we go again! Some of the new read/write web vocabulary is just barely familiar – and much of it might as well be Klingon. For librarians it can feel like too much, too fast. Sensory overload sets in and we are in danger of “tuning out”.

Let’s not do that.

School library blogs are a great way to communicate with our students, using their media of choice. So – let’s figure out if there is a way to work blogs into our library programs. To get the creative juices flowing – try finishing the following sentences. I’ve put in a few ideas to get the conversation going: (additions will appear in green text. Be sure to read the comments to find out who the authors of the comments are.)

I Will Blog Because: (How can I use a library blog to improve service to students? to faculty? to the library world?)

I will blog because my students pay attention to blogs

I will blog because it helps me share ideas with my school community

I will blog because it helps me expand my ideas with ideas from other people in the cyberworld who are thinking about the same things that I am thinking about

I will blog because I want to model social networking behavior for my colleagues and students.

I will blog because I need to “reinvent” myself as a Library Media Specialist in a changing world . . . once again!

I will blog because 42 minutes a day doesn’t really constitute an intellectual conversation.

I will blog because the daily news in circle time is much more authentic when we publish it and first grade students can go home and read it to their parents.

I will blog because I want to be part of a larger professional community.

I will blog about solutions instead of whinging about problems.

I will blog because there are so many conversations to have between us and our users.

I will blog because there are so many new things to learn about and test and report back on and this medium suits such things pretty darn well.

I will blog because when I ask a room full of librarians “How many of you have a blog at your library’s web site” and three hands out of 70 go up, there’s still a message to convey.

I will blog because I can easily store thoughts, data and bits of writing that I will need later and l know exactly where it is at all times.

I will blog because anyone can have a voice in the biblioblogoshpere and share themselves and their thinking and I relish the chance to point to some new thinker and hopefully comment on their words.

I will blog because it makes Michael Gorman look like a Big Goober for not getting that librarians + weblogs = a thriving community of practice that has enhanced my life and hopefully others.

I will blog because I’m inspired by librarians who do what they do so well.

I will blog because I like putting my self out there! 🙂

I will blog because as the world evolves our teaching models and practices need to be discussed and re-evaluated.

I will blog because the roads are too nasty today for me to get out to visit people in person!

I will blog because sometimes I need to vent my frustrations with this job. And sometimes I need to share my victories.

I will blog because I learn so much in the process of blogging–about the resources I write about, about html, about human nature, about myself–that Iwould otherwise not learn.

I will blog because of the thoughtful comments posted from around the world.

I will blog because SHARE is the librarian’s mantra, and information is a conversation.

I will blog because if I’ve learned something useful, there’s no point in hoarding that knowledge.

I will Blog Instead Of: (What will I do differently OR what will I give up to make time for blogging?)

I will create a “library news blog” instead of sending out a paper newsletter to my faculty & administration.

I will blog my ideas instead of saving my ideas to folders on my school computer

I will blog book reviews instead of posting reviews to my static website.

How will you finish the sentences? Please jump in and comment.

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Just got back from a great conference day. Stephen Abram

and Chris Harris have given me SO much to think about. Where to start? I liked Stephen Abram’s advice – “Just play”! Anyway – thanks Stephen and Chris – and thanks also to Doug Johnson, who challenged me to write this post.

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What could our libraries look like with a little money and a lot fewer roadblocks?

Based on the following posts:

1. I Will … (as a student). from John Pederson Pedersondesigns
2. I Will … (as a teacher) from Doug Johnson – Blue Skunk Blog

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I WILL … (as a school librarian)

Note to everyone in the biblioblogosphere: PLEASE ADD TO THIS! Additions will be added in Green Text. Look at the comments to find out the authors of the additions. Some minor changes have been made to improve clarity or flow.

Let’s have a little competition at our school library and get ready for the future.

I will use a laptop, interactive Library/Web 2.0 tools, a library web page with access to subscription databases, plus unfiltered access to the Internet. You will use a desktop computer, no subscription databases, a filtered Internet connection, and no interactive technologies – not even email. Are you ready…?

• I will access research databases with the full text of thousands of periodicals & reference articles – you will have the library’s 30 periodical titles and a copier.
• I will have 24/7 access to on-line research books and reference articles – you can work in the library whenever you have the time.
• I will save my notes to a blog, wiki or other collaborative website so I can work on them from any computer, anywhere, anytime – you will save your notes to a disk or other portable storage media, and carry it with you from computer to computer.
• I will communicate directly with leaders and experts using email, blogs, wikis and other on-line collaborative tools – you will read their words from a book or a web site (as long as the sites are not blocked by your school’s content filter).
• I will collaborate with my peers from around the world – you will collaborate with peers in your school.
• I will work with my collaborative learning group to complete a school project any time, any place, using a blog, wiki or other web-based collaborative tools – you will meet with your group in the library whenever you have the same “free” period.
• I will add podcasts, video clips and other multimedia to my presentation and post it to the web – you will share it with your teachers and students.
• I will share my opinions about books with readers around the world using using Library/Web 2.0 tools – you will share your opinions with other people in the library.
• I will take my learning as far as I want – you must wait until you get home, away from the library’s filtered web access.
• I will use the tools my NetGen patrons prefer to communicate with them (blogs, wikis, webpages, chat) – you can send out overdue notices.
• I will help my students develop the search and evaluation skills they need to survive in an enormous, unmoderated information environment – you will help children learn to use the Dewey Decimal System.
• I will teach my fellow teachers how to use these new tools so that they too can feel comfortable in the new digital landscape — you will drag your feet about learning how to use the tools yourself, because “that’s not why I became a librarian.”
• I will remain calm, even if a student’s cell phone accidently rings. You can freak out like a buggywhip maker hearing a new fangled car horn.
• I will play games because I know playing is just another word for learning that is fun. You will say “No Games in the Library” because your students have to be working, not enjoying being in the library.
• I will remember that we have always had students just copying encyclopedia articles and turning them in. You will complain that with this new media students are just cutting and pasting rather than reading.
• I will remember that technology isn’t the point, that the point is to design projects that make kids think, rather than projects that show all the bells and whistles. You will stick with the same projects your kids have always done.
• I will balance my “collection” – print, electronic and online – allocating resources to encompass all areas. You will focus on one area to the detriment of the other.
• I will call myself a teacher-librarian because the title “school library media specialist” is focused on a room and materials, not on students and learning.

The cost of a laptop per year? – $250

The cost of quality research databases – Expensive

The cost of librarian, teacher and student training? – Expensive

The cost of well educated & well informed citizens and workforce? – Priceless

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Alternative viewpoints:

I will (as a School Librarian) want to get some of that kool kids hype on me and buy wholesale into the web 2.0 triumphalist rhetoric, positing even my good ideas in a confrontational, condescending style – you will not be able to do anything but agree wholeheartedly without eliciting my rude, snarky scorn.