#7 Technology - the Internet

To me the biggest piece of technology that has changed my life and affects just about every aspect of my job is the Internet. It is amazing how many people are welcoming the Internet into their homes and the number of people with home Internet access is constantly increasing. We just have to look at the statistics for catalogue use via our online catalogue, with patrons searching for titles, placing holds, renewing items....it is our busiest branch and more and more people are accessing it from home.

So, what does this mean for public libraries? It means that we need to be creating 'virtual' ways of communicating with our patrons and this ties us nicely back to web 2.0. Yes, technology is there to support what libraries have always done and it is a tool, but now we really have to be open to the ways we can use it to communicate with patrons too. Websites need to be treated as a 'branch' of the library service and the possibilities are endless.

It also means that people have got used to having information at their fingertips and I think are becoming increasingly impatient with libraries if they can't provide the book or information they want exactly when they want it. Libraries and library staff have the challenge of maintaining and developing the delicate balance between providing the information needed in the format needed and at the time needed with the love of books and reading and providing a library community. It really is an exciting time to work in libraries.