Web 2.0 and Booklovers

Ellyssa Kroski points to this great posting:
80 Online Resources for Book Lovers
Zigmas Bigelis has created a giant list of 80 tools and applications in these categories:
Social Networking for Book Lovers
E-books
Online Bookstores
Find the Best Prices for Books
Audiobooks
Study Guides and Summaries
Library Resources
Bibliography and Research
Book Exchanges/Swapping
Online Documents
What to Read
Miscellaneous
The list is nicely linked and worth mining for ideas. There has been more push back on 2.0 ideas lately – some from the contingent who want to push libraries back into the book warehouse box. Honestly, what a crock! If you can’t find a 2.0 type tool that meets your organization’s primary mission and mandate, don’t use it. But those who say don’t do it at all and stick to your knitting are just dinosaurs. It’s one thing to make personalized book suggestions to one user when asked and quite a bigger thing to take that suggestion and put it on a library blog or make a Squidoo page or create a bunch of delicious links. Adapting that Amazon type stuff just makes sense.
Remember, some libraries banned novels in the early years, I couldn’t get Hardy Boys when I was akid, and some libraries wouldn’t take phone questions. I’m not going out on a limb to say they were dead wrong.
I just received Elyssa Kroski’s new book, Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals (Neal-Schuman, 2008). I’d say that might be a great place to mine for some 2.0 ideas that align with your organization’s mandate.
Stephen