blogschmog

I am an older style librarian with a slight greying at the temples. I am able to remember a room full of librarians oohing and aahing at the 60 second response to a command put into a new computer being spruiked to our library by an enthusiastic salesman. Everyone agreed that this was a wonderful thing. Only 60 seconds and it flashed onto the screen in living colour. Albeit, that the graphics were not unlike early Russian animation and the amount of information available to be searched was not much more than would be found in your average calorie counter guide…yes, we all agreed it was a wonderful thing.
No need for card catalogues you say, go on,…gone are each book’s card where previously the patron’s membership number was recorded…unheard of! Later this thing called the Internet, but it wouldn’t catch on, who would use such a thing, who has got a computer at home anyway? Well, things, as they say, change. And, quickly!
So, the Learning 2.0 program is a godsend. I may not have a need for an ipod. I still have little need for a mobile phone. But this does not mean that I do not wish to know what they do or how they fit into the great pantheon of communication technology.
I would not have thought of myself as a blogger but, once started, like most people, I kinda like the sound of my own typing. The idea of putting it out there; what was two minutes ago was only in my head and in two minutes can be seen by millions, is startling, frightening, humbling , omnipotent. So, beam me up Scotty!
Lifelong learning is, one would hope, what everyone does. Librarians tend to have it as a common practice because of our jobs or because of why we got into that job in the first place. In this particular context it is about keeping up to date with new technologies for communicating information, gathering and structuring information, meeting, greeting and bleating, sharing and caring, seeing the future and recording what’s past.
Lifelong learners are commonly the most interesting and vibrant people to meet. Their desire to keep moving forward and not be content with enough is enough is invigorating to themselves and others. Everyone has their story. Everyone’s story has room for more chapters and is refreshed every day (like clicking the green icon on the top of our screens) by the infusion of new ideas, good and bad ,new strategies, crazy and inspired and old truths that we have rediscovered.
Blogs can tell these stories. Some, I have read are very personal. They seem slight. But the best songs are written for the writer, not for a large audience, with the certainty that if it means something to the writer then it will also speak to others.
Blogs that push a political or cultural philosophy can be interesting, inspiring or just plain infuriating. Perhaps most fulfilling are those that share a common interest in things like hobbies,music, art, literature, model collecting or hundreds of other pursuits. I love enthusiasts. Bill Collins tended to gush and cluck about movies a bit too much for my liking but I loved his enthusiasm for his subject.
Blogs could have a relevant and important use in libraries. They could report on new ideas, research, discoveries for those with an interest in subjects like local history, new publications, technological updates or “what’s happening” type of activities like author talks, storytimes and various cultural activities. They would gather in strength as home computer use became more pervasive and an interested client audience was established through word of mouth, emails, interactive discussions and formation of groups with similar interests.