Thing #7: Blog about Technology

Technology: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...Many people might agree with me that technology, when all goes well, can be very exciting, or it can make you want to rip every hair out of your head when you cannot make something work for you, or you cannot figure out what the problem might be, no matter what you do. It seems sometimes that some computers have capricious minds of their own, or, as one of my esteemed colleagues likes to say, the library was built on some ancient Indian burial grounds, and that may perhaps account for our system's persnickity-ness at times! :0)

On a different note, sometimes I contemplate the internet, and what in the world we did without it just a mere decade or so ago. It is truly amazing the sheer number of research sources one can procure with just a few clicks of a mouse. How did we write all of those papers in bygone days? We certainly did not have access to that much information. The flip side, I suppose, is that today's researcher must have greater critical skills to discern what are the most reputable and useful sources for his or her purposes. Research aside, I can go to the internet and watch a You-Tube video to help me figure out how to snake the kitchen sink, or I can find some great craft ideas for library programs. Amazon.com helps me to do my work at the reference desk every day. I don't think I could live without the internet now.

The future of books: I remember the '90's, when just about everyone was foretelling the demise of the book in less than a decade. "Pretty soon the book will be obsolete," the futurists would say, "and everyone will be carrying around tiny computers and reading e-books on them." I did not believe them at the time, and for a change, I was right on this one. I really don't think books will become obsolete. Will Barnes and Noble be going out of business any time soon? Um, no, I don't think so. Maybe many research sources might convert to electronic text, but not books that are read for pleasure. Who wants to curl up with a "good computer"? There is something about the touch, the feel, and even smell of a book that adds to the enjoyment of the reading experience. I would venture to say that children's picture books will NEVER become electronic.