I’ve been reading a lot about Library 2.0 lately. I’ve been talking a lot about it, too. (Sorry to those who have had to listen to me ramble!)
A lot of what’s being said is echoed in similar ways accross the biblioblogosphere. Today I was reading an excellent collection of comments on the issue over at Tame the Web, and I was struck by a comment posted by Ian McKinney. He suggested bringing in the concept of “third space,” one that I’m really into in a general sense and hadn’t quite pulled into my Library 2.0 thinking yet. Third spaces are those places other than work or home where a person feels comfortable and part of a community. For me, in Raleigh, it was Global Village or Helios. I haven’t quite developed on in Winston-Salem yet. Libraries could be these places, particularly if they pay attention to, and address, the interests and desires of their users. The entire Library 2.0 movement, for me, is broader than just social software. It’s about the interaction that it facilitates, the relationships developed between librarians and users (even if the relationships are entirely in a “virtual” world), and the expansion of the library (and it’s services) into the users day-to-day world (be it in person, on myspace, or over a cell phone). In this sense, the library as a third space could be the physical building, but in an increasingly technological environment, the library could be a third space on the web, too.
Thanks Ian McKinney, for the food for thought!
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[...] I also think this two way, conversational view of Library 2.0 fits in with my growing interest in library as third place. If the library is a real or virtual place where people contribute to discussions, idea, and the general information pool, they will feel a tie to the community and the place. [...]
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