Week 1 Reading

2004 Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers
*This article uses the terms “disruptive changes” and “disruptive technology” when referring to some advancements in information technology. What makes these things “disruptive”? This relates to my muddiest point question of when something can be considered helpful or harmful to the Library Science field.
*I did not know what a “wiki” meant outside the context of “Wikipedia.” I thought wikis only existed in Wikipedia in a “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” relationship.
*Even a 5 year gap between the publication date of this material and the time I am reading is enough to make it seem slightly outdated. Countless new features have been added to some of the technology it talks about and entirely new pieces of technology have come out. All this brings home the article’s point that it takes great vigilance to stay current and relevant.

Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture
*A question I would have for Lynch is where the public should receive the training to become literate in information technology? Would it be offered in schools or should part of a library’s responsibility be training its patrons as well as its staff to use the library’s resources as best they can?

Lied Library @ four years: technology never stands still
*The library I worked at as an undergrad still uses Millennium. Oh dear.
*It seems to me that many technological advances are implemented to save library money (free space, increased patronage, etc.) But as the article points out, constantly updating the technology has its own costs. But libraries cannot “afford” to let their technology go stale either.