After reading all of the articles I've decided to respond to "Away from the "icebergs." Although I must say that several of the articles truly stirred my librarian emotion.
I agree with Mr. Anderson that librarians have been heroically rowing the library boat, even at times when it felt like bailing might be a more appropriate response. I disagree with Mr. Anderson in his comment that librarians/libraries are not paying enough attention to potential disasters, "just in case" collection, user education, "come to us" library service. I would like to believe/hope that many libraries/librarians are working hard to keep up with the challenges that Web 2.0/Library 2.0 have brought to us. Isn't challenge and change supposed to be positive?
The "just in case"collection has been morphing to meet the current demands however grudgingly and possibly a bit slower than hoped for. Attitudes of librarians have had to change regarding collection development and will need to continue to be open to change as we move further into Web 2.0/Library 2.0. What I'm not seeing change are the attitudes of teachers. Many/most are not familiar with nor have a desire to become familiar with Web 2.0/Library 2.0 offerings and demands. Until curriculum is written to include these there will not be a change.
Libraries have been poorly equipped and insufficiently staffed for teaching forever. The cry has been going out for more staffing for years but continues to fall on deaf ears. However, librarians have not thrown in the towel due to the short fall of staffing. We continue to find ways to do more with less. Not a perfect world or solution but we have to work with what we've got. I disagree that we need to move away from teaching research skills and move to nothing but succinct information delivery. Our patrons need and deserve both. How will we do it with our current constraints, I'm not sure but as in the past we will continue to strive for the best for our patrons by educating them and delivering to them the best that we have.
The "come to us" model has been in jeopardy for a few years as we are forced to deliver information via the web. But why must we be forced? Rather we should be more than excited to jump on the Web2.0/Library 2.0 bandwagon. We must meet users where they are rather than expecting them to come to us.
No profession can survive if it does not conform/morph/shift to meet the fundamental changes and demands of its changing community. Our information world is changing rapidly and libraries must change right along with the rest of the world if we wish to survive.
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