Thing 15

Library 2.0

Traditionally, information flows one way; for example, from teacher to student. The concept of 2.0 is basically to let any individual give input.
One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it; so discussing, or collaborating, with others helps the participant fix information better in mind. This is social learning. (Hmmmm, come to think of it, my sister 'collaborates' with her classmates on schoolwork.....)
It also seems that the collaborative concept extends to letting individuals build there own online applications; in other words, to take the data available on a website and manipulate it in a new way.

One of the most useful 2.0 things a library could implement is the use of patron generated tags as subject headers. Sears and LOC subjects are at times too formal; allowing individuals to tag books would enable others to more easily locate their heart's desire. LibraryThing allows individuals to create a catalog of their own books, affix tags, and search other's tags/ratings/recommendations (if you like that, try this.)

Drawbacks: For 2.0 programs to work, enough people must be involved. And I think this is what would stall any 2.0 program implemented by my library: not enough patrons are likely to participate.
Also there are privacy issues: allowing patrons to make apps with the library's data could compromise an individual's privacy.

One cool application of this concept is when a newspaper posted (newly) opened records and hundreds of people looked through the data to find newsworthy information buried the in sheer volume. Click here to read the article. (This particular use of 2.0 is called crowdsourcing)