I’ve been following the ALA L2 Blogs and exchanging emails with many of the participants. This little bit comes from Don Wood, an ALA staff member who I go to meet in person at the ALA 2.0 Roadshow we did this spring. Don really taps onto something that is important: the concepts of L2 do not seek to push aside everything we’ve always done or alienate current users of libraries.
My comment on Brian Gray’s blog pretty well sums up how I feel about how I see the spirit of this 2.0 project. Libraries should become, to coin a phrase, Library 2.0 compliant, but the Library Bill of Rights and the ALA Code of Ethics are principles that should not become lost during the transformation. In addition, if the general public starts to (or continues to!) believe that libraries are obsolete or fast becoming so, then libraries are doomed, no matter how compliant they become. I would hate to see that happen. Libraries aren’t covered wagons making way for cars, or typewriters making way for computers. They are community, scholarship, intellectual freedom, places where the have-nots can come and link to the rest of the world, mostly for free.
Read more from Don on Radical Trust at his ALA L2 Blog! And pay special attention to his points on organizations and leadership.