As the way we communicate has evolved from writing letters, through writing e-mails, to posting a Facebook message or tweeting on Twitter, so the way we obtain information has evolved to a stage where libraries seem obsolete to the general public, as Mark Hirschey states in his comment on the Lawrence Journal-World & News website: “Libraries are obsolete. Modern information technology involves two-way communication between providers and users of information technology…Don't expect kids, seniors, and everyone else to trudge downtown for the convenience of librarians. Put information technology at the fingertips of every kid, and every senior in Lawrence...Otherwise, offer reliable Internet access at small 24/7 City of Lawrence Free Internet Cafes ("libraries") that are broadly distributed for easy walking access by kids and seniors.” (Hirschey, 2006). Hirschey’s suggestion that an internet café could be considered a library merely for providing access to information fits with McMillan’s statement that “For many people “digital libraries” mean information on the Internet…” (McMillan, 2000). But for many people this access to information on the internet doesn’t exist and so the library is far from obsolete, rather it is evolving like many other forms of information gathering. See the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asYUI0l6EtE&NR=1 for a look at the future of the library.
The four articles reviewed look at the relevancy of libraries in the digital age and the effect the media of blogs, wikis and social networking are having on knowledge management. Firstly we’ll look at Moira Levy’s article, which seeks to find an understanding of Web 2.0 and the way it impacts on knowledge management. Next is Fred Heath on the ability and need of research libraries to embrace new technologies. Third is an article by Roxanne Missingham on the needs of high speed broadband and authoritative databases access and how Electronic Resources Australia provides this; and lastly, Paul Anderson’s short editorial on the way libraries may be in the right place to provide some unique contributions to the development of blogs, wikis and social networking sites. Through these four articles we will see that libraries are not obsolete but highly relevant to the progression of these Web 2.0 resources and the management of current, authoritative, easily accessible information.
