Hopping Into Library 2.0 & Millenial Disconnects

This week I participated in my first and second online seminars. I especially liked sitting at my desk eating lunch as I watched the seating plan fill for the SirsiDynix Institute web seminar Hopping Into Library 2.0. Podcast and slides should be up within the week for this. It was great to hear an Australian Library (Yarra Plenty) share their experiences with the world. Over sixty people were in attendance, 20 or more from Australia. There were just a few schools participating, but I think this program could be profitably rejigged for schools. Not only lifelong learning but also play was emphasised in the Yarra Plenty program - as you can see from this pic from their Flickr collection.

I couldn't resist the opportunity of another online event at 7am Wednesday. There were close to 300 participants in this and a chat window going the whole time. Discussing the Disconnects Between Library Culture and Millennial Generation Values was presented by the Learning Times Network, and will also be available for podcasting soon. This article by Robert McDonald and Chuck Thomas was an excellent lead in to their presentation. There are some challenging ideas for libraries to deal with, but deal we must. As the authors conclude:

Finding the right way to achieve balance between traditional library values and the expectations and habits of coming generations will determine whether libraries remain relevant in the social, educational, and personal contexts of the Information Age.