I think one thing that is obvious from our readings and just from observing our own lives and what is happening in the library and information world is that the use of technology amongst the common person is exploding. Pew recently did a survey and found that 47% of adults get news from their cell phones http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Local-mobile-news.aspx and adults under the age of 40 are more likely to donate to disaster relief through an electronic means http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Japan-Donations.aspx. I think these two surveys clearly demonstrate a shift towards an electronic culture. Library culture needs to keep up with what is going on now, people are demanding apps for their library and mobile access. The ALA conference brought up this fact in 2009. I think that many libraries, now in 2011, are slow to adapt their services to reflect the changing culture of technology. While many do offer iphone apps http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dcpl/id301077850?mt=8 and the like, still many others are slow to evolve and change their services. If libraries want to be relevant in 5 years, they need to keep up with the tech trends. Libraries also need to keep in mind that while technology is changing and new services are being offered, the values and professional ethics of the profession will remain the same. They may have to be adapted to facilitate the use of new technologies in the library, but privacy, intellectual freedom, etc. will all remain key issues in the library world.

It is also true that before implementing a new technology, a library should survey, study, analyze, etc to ensure that the new technology they are putting in place will be used by their patrons and still relevant in a few years. I think many of the technologies libraries are implementing today will help to change the face of the library and hopefully save it from its certain death if it remains unchanged.

One of the readings that I found more interesting was ”Disconnects between Library Culture and Millennial Generational Values.” At the beginning of library school we all learned Ranganathan’s five laws. With those concepts we were told to think outside of the law just pertaining to a physical book. I agree with McDonald and Thomas that the values of the library need to change to reflect the values of their user today. Without adapting with the user and their expectations how are libraries supposed to keep up and be relevant. But also throughout library school, I think that we learned a lot about how libraries and changing and adapting to the new information culture that has emerged. McDonald and Thomas seem to think that the disconnect that exists is quite vast, but I disagree. I think many institutions, both in the academic and public spheres, are creating programs, spaces, etc. for this new generation of users. Most public libraries now have a youth services librarian, something that did not exist some time ago. Also a long those lines, many public libraries are setting up gaming nights. http://www.cary.lib.il.us/teenfrontpage.asp.
In the academic realm, many institutions are trying to make their presence on the web known. For example many institutions are now using facebook and twitter to connect with their users in ”their” space. Like Northwestern http://www.facebook.com/pages/Northwestern-University-Library/115574078497997.
We have also learned throughout our education at Dominican that many libraries are promoting the use of the Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ to help combat the very issues that McDonald and Thomas bring up, like copyright. Most academic institutions are adapting well to this new generation and trying to provide methods that coincide with their values.
One last way that many academic libraries are trying to adapt to this new culture is by making the library a place. There are numerous examples, many that we learned about in our management class, of institutions redoing their libraries and making it more of a user friendly hang out. Many places have provided a coffee shop like environment for this new generation. A good example of an academic library transforming itself to be the third place is the Welch Memorial Medical Library at Johns Hopkins University http://www.welch.jhu.edu/.
While I think that McDonald and Thomas raise some valid points, I do think that the academic world is trying to evolve with this new generation of users.

One of the most shocking things that I learned while reading was that the United States lagged far behind many other countries in households with broadband internet access. While the USGAO stated in their report from 2006 that it was a national goal for developing broadband, the OECD broadband portal showed that in 2009, the United States was still far behind many other nations in homes with broadband access. Nearly 100% of homes in Korea have access with the United States lagging far behind at just above 60%. In between Korea and the United States were countries like Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Findland, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany. While it is not surprising that most homes in Western European countries have access to the internet because of their progressive tendencies it is surprising to see just how far behind the United States is. A recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life project http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Home-Broadband-2010.aspx showed that 66% of homes in the United States had broadband access, but growth has greatly slowed down. This is a huge concern for us librarians. Many people are without access or the ability to access valuable information. If broadband access is not expanded how can equal access be guaranteed. While another article mentioned the efforts of the government to supply tax credits through stimulus efforts for companies to provide broadband access to lower income groups or people who do not have it, it seems support from the general public is less than excited about the plan. http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2010/Home-Broadband-Washington-Post.aspx. Many may not agree about access to broadband as being a major issue worth addressing/fixing, but it is. The United States is steadily falling behind many other countries in all areas, like education. One huge factor in this is the fact that many students do not have access to the internet when they go home. How can we expect knowledge to grow if much of the population is cut off from much of the information that is created.

Post #2
As with all the changing and developing aspects of the library profession concerning copyright that we discussed last week, LIS web jobs is another new and evolving part that evokes discussion. I think many of us thought when we entered library school that we would be behind the desk at our local public library, but after a few classes we all might have begun questioning the value of that job. Many have decided to branch out to the school library media program, archives, special collections, or where ever else. Since graduation is quickly approaching and the job market is not improving, the question that many of us face is: what are we going to do come June? It has been brought to my attention by my mother who is less than tech-savvy, that there are many great web jobs available to a person with an MLIS degree and if she could find them, then they must be out there.
It is good to see that there is a discussion that is occurring about the new technologies and how we as current students should embrace them and move forward hopefully to a place where they want and encourage the use of our knowledge about library 2.0 and web 2.0. One of the articles mentioned libraries and other institutions using twitter, facebook, wordpress, and other social media to reach the millions of internet users. Online only libraries are being developed and many companies desire the skills and competencies we GSLIS students learned to develop their online presence. An article by Lee Raine titled, “The Networked Librarian” describes the new role of the librarian that is emerging http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2011/May/San-Francisco-Public-Library.aspx. The reading that explored the Smithsonian commons described three questions who is it for?, what do they want? And how do you know?, that should be addressed when trying to “grab” someone, which seems now that more and more people are turning to the internet and need to be reached there, may involve social media. As future librarians, I think it is important for us to see and understand the trends that are developing now and the issues that are emerging out of our different user bases in order to understand the many complexities we face and the opportunities that we encounter and how to grab those whose attention we require.

Post #1
For me and many other people copyright, fair use, intellectual property, and the remix culture can be very confusing. Since the advent of the internet and the creation of sharing sites, like Napster, etc., many people have disregarded copyright, intellectual property and what it means. It seems that many people do not understand the copyright law or what is fair use. Currently, I am an intern at Rush University Medical Archives and while I have been there, the archivists have discussed how the other members of their institution often come to them for photos or histories to use in their presentations, pamphlets, or posters. The many members of the faculty are alarmed when they receive the archives brief statement and rules about copyright and fair use; many ask what it means or if they cannot use the information or photos anymore. While the archivists want to provide access to their materials, they also feel it is their responsibility to educate their users about how to responsibly use the material. It seems the best way to handle the problem of balancing copyright with access and use is education. Librarians, archivists, and anyone else who is responsible for the care of resources should also be responsible for the education of their users, without the proper education how can we aspect our users to understand and follow the law.

From many of the readings, it appears that the copyright law is not keeping up with the advancement of the internet, the developments of web 2.0, and webpage design. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf does provide protection for copyrighted works on the internet, but many question whether or not it is enough. Many librarians feel like it infringes on equal access while others, mainly publishers, believe that there are not enough rules out there protecting their books, for example. To me, it seems that while the laws exist to protect the book publishers or the web designers from people outright taking and copying their work or their code, education of the internet user is needed. A good way for people to learn about fair use and a compromise between the reality of both copyright and the internet is the creative commons http://creativecommons.org/. Use of the creative commons seems to benefit all parties involved and deepens the wealth of knowledge that is available for everyone to use. I, for example, did not know this existed until I went to library school. Promotion of this site and what it offers in high school, college, and many other places where students do work, learn, and study would, I think, significantly impact the copyright and use/remix “problem.” The creative commons not only educates the user about what it does, how it does, and why it does it, but it also provides a platform for the user to share, use, and remix things legally.

One thing that I immediately thought of after reading some of the articles was the cloud and how it is going to impact the production of materials. While the cloud may seem new to some of us, it has been around for some time. The pew internet has many interesting facts about the cloud, like 69% of all internet users from 2008 have used some form of cloud commuting http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2008/Cloud-computing-takes-hold-as-69-of-all-internet-users-have-either-stored-data-online-or.aspx. It appears it is becoming used in the home more often, we all have seen those to the cloud commercials. Many questions, however, are arising about privacy, use, and copyright. The law needs to keep up with the advancements made in Web 2.0 and the education of the users also needs to be addressed as a culture of remix and reuse has emerged.