IP2.0 – Are you up for the challenge?

Information professional Web 2.0 (IP2.0) is an adventurous risk taker, who has excellent time management skills, thrives on change and enjoys experimenting with new things. (Harvey 2009). She has vision, spark, creativity. She innovates and uses technology well and responds to changing user needs (Farkas 2007). She definitely has a sense of humour. IP2.0  is willing to work outside her comfort zone, and has learned to let go of a need to control (Partridge, Lee & Munro 2010). She is willing to make mistakes.

IP2.0 has an extensive network of contacts (physical and virtual) where she is an advocate for the profession by contributing, sharing and receiving great ideas, innovations and new technologies. She builds and manages a consistent online identity that presents an image of an active, well-informed, progressive person (McBurnie 2007).

IP2.0’s library has a vibrant, exciting, innovative well-designed physical space AND website. Both are updated regularly and inform patrons of collections, events and popular materials. Users are encouraged to actively contribute by providing feedback, ideas, concerns, compliments, complaints in an open and transparent forum, viewable by all (Mathews 2009). Clients also contribute reviews, feedback, comments, tags and ratings to add value to library items.

IP2.0 does not sit at the circulation desk and wait for patrons to come to her. She is aware of the spaces her clientele inhabit and taps into their networks and connects with them there (Barnatt 2008). She uses a media mix (Li 2010) to keep in constant touch to determine the preferences, needs and wants of both existing and potential clients. She provides the means for people to participate, interact and create (Partridge, Lee & Munro 2010) and invites them to contribute their own unique perspectives.

While being well-versed in a range of technological tools, IP2.0 abstains from technolust (Farkas 2008). Instead, she starts with a need, then finds and sceptically experiments with and evaluates new tools to meet that organisational or user need. She is given adequate paid time to investigate these tools to ensure they will add value to the services she is providing.

And at the end of the day, IP2.0 takes off her cape and rests comfortably in the knowledge that she has served society well. IP2.0 loves her work.

References:

Barnatt, C. 2008. (YouTube clip). Explaining Web 2.0. Accessed 28/11/13 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAXvFdMBWw&feature=related

Casey, M. & Savastinuk, L. 2006. Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library, Library Journal, 1 September. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html

Cohen, L. 2006. A librarian’s 2.0 manifesto.(Youtube clip). Retrieved 28/12/13 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblrRs3fkSU.

Farkas, M. 2007. Building academic library 2.0. UCBerkeleyEvents. Retrieved 10/12/13 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uOKFhoznI.

Harvey, M. 2009. What does it mean to be a Science Librarian 2.0? Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, (Summer). Retrieved 28/12/13 from http://www.istl.org/09-summer/article2.html

Li, C. 2010. Selling social media strategy to leadership (podcast), accessed 21/11/2013 from http://ontherecordpodcast.com/pr/otro/selling-social-media-boss.aspx. 

Mathews, B. 2009. Web design matters: ten essentials for any library site. Library Journal, Feb 15, 2009, Vol 134 (3), p 24.

McBurnie, J. 2007. Your online identity: Key to marketing and being found. (Blog). Freepint. Retrieved 10/1/4 from http://web.freepint.com/go/features/2510. 

Miller, P. 2005. Web 2.0: Building the new library, Ariadne, 45, 30 October. Retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue45/miller

Partridge, H., Lee, J., & Munro, C. 2010. Becoming "Librarian 2.0": The Skills, Knowledge, and Attributes Required by Library and Information Science Professionals in a Web 2.0 World (and Beyond). Library Trends, 59(1-2), 315-335