I've always loved gadgets and new technologies and by playing around with them I can usually get them to work. On the other hand...computers are so all-pervasive it can seem like everyone is staring at a screen all day. As librarians the internet is very useful, we need to consider it as well as other sources. But not to the exclusion of other sources.
On that note, there have been ads recently for Optus and Telstra broadband which, while funny, suggest that you can get the 'right answer' quickly and easily if you just have internet access. Some of them openly state that it's better than going to a library, so maybe we need to promote our skills better. (Though public libraries don't quite have Telstra's advertising budget). At the same time we need to be relevant by embracing new technologies.
One new product I wish we offered is downloadable audiobooks. I have read a lot about these in the US Library Journal. A library service subscribes to the vendor, just like a database, and library users can log in with their card number and download MP3 recordings.
Perhaps in the future we will need to review, and provide guides to online content as another information service?
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