Although it’s sometimes hard for me to believe it, there is still a stereotype that people who interact with other people online are all nerds and dorks who live in their parent’s basements and who are all socially dysfunctional losers. After seeing how easy it was to start this blog, I embarked on a blog with a friend (it’s not about libraries, and I like to keep it separate from work [and relatively anonymous] so sorry, no link!) back in March. Since then, we’ve met a so many fabulous, wonderful, like-minded people online. Through commenting on blogs, emailing and IMing, we’ve had the pleasure of hanging out virtually with all kinds of cool folks from all over the country. This was something I totally expected, having done enough reading about the kinds of connections that can come from 2.0 technologies. However, I was shocked when over the summer and in this past week, I was able to meet some of these online friends in person. Even for someone like me, who’s more than a little cynical, and just old enough to remember not having email in high school, the idea of meeting online contacts in real life is a little scary. There was no reason on Earth to be scared. The people I met were all exactly like what they seemed to be online. Funny, smart, clever, intelligent, witty and confident. We’re in an age where one doesn’t need to be a tech savvy genius to have a blog, so the idea that all bloggers would be socially dysfunctional parent’s-basement dwellers is completely laughable. Still, it was nice to be reminded that this is so.
What does this have to do with libraries? After meeting my new blog friends in real life, I realized that I consider them to be as close to me as the friends I’ve made the traditional way (i.e. through school and through other friends), in large part becuase the people I’ve met online all share common interests. If they didn’t love the topic I blog about, I’d never meet them. For the first time in my life, I have the opportunity to meet people based on interests, without the limitations of geopgraphy. This is a great thing to keep in mind when attempting to assist patrons. People aren’t just looking for information anymore. Often times, people can find so much more to fill their information needs with by accessing a group of people or a network whose interests intersect with their own. For example, a person looking for information on breast cancer might be well served to be given the latest medical information, but also assistance in locating an online support group where people facing similar challenges can offer help beyond the latest books and journals.
Part of the uphill battle though is getting patrons to recognize that, while the web is certainly still pretty much the lawless frontier, it’s also a gathering place for people of all cultures, backgrounds, and interests.
Filed under: blogging
