Library managers and information in World 2.0
| Pages | 57-68 |
| Date | 02 January 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120910927529 |
| Published date | 02 January 2009 |
| Author | Suzie Allard |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Library managers and
information in World 2.0
Suzie Allard
School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
Tennessee, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide library managers with the ability to recognize and
address World 2.0 information issues to enhance their ability to develop management plans for the
future.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores what World 2.0 means to library managers
in three ways. Three information dimensions are identified using models to examine World 2.0 in a
historical context. An analysis is conducted of the different generations of users in World 2.0 including
their diverse attitudes, beliefs, experiences and skills and how these influence their engagement with
the information environment. Four key characteristics of Web 2.0 are identified through an analysis of
Web 2.0 in relation to World 2.0.
Findings – Key findings in this paper are that: three dimensions of information in World 2.0 exist
and can be used by library managers to help them understand the challenges and to facilitate the
construction of strategic management plans that address them. Generational and organizational
perspectives of World 2.0 can influence how libraries engage Web 2.0, and should be considered when
library managers make strategic management plans for the future. The four characteristics of Web 2.0
create considerations for library managers during their planning processes.
Originality/value – This paper is of interest because it provides library managers with a thorough
understanding of World 2.0 and how it may influence their libraries and their users so they can make
more informed, more successful planning choices.
Keywords Library management,Strategic planning, Informationcentres, Internet
Paper type Research paper
1. World 2.0 defined
Libraries and information centers exist in a highly dynamic, chaotic information
environment characterized by changes that reach across the globe; an environment
which we will refer to as World 2.0. World 2.0 is economically and technologically
challenging because traditional boundaries dictated by geography and regional
preferences are falling, creating a disaggregated or “flat” world in terms of commerce
and competition for innovation (Apte and Mason, 1995; Friedman, 2006; Ruth and
Pizzato, 2007; Tapscott and Williams, 2007). Additionally, there is “dog-year change”
(Todaro, 2008), in which these changes happen so rapidly it may seem as if seven years
of changes occur in only one year. The information environment has responded by
continually evolving (Barnes and Hinton, 2007; Cheverie, 1999; Eagles et al., 1999;
Fletcher, 2003; Heo and Han, 2003; Levine et al., 2007; Mithas and Whitaker, 2007).
While traditional libraries and information services and organizations still exist, there
is also a shift to new paradigms of service and organization in the last decade (Allard
et al., 2007; Carrasco and Funk, 1998; Gerth and Rothman, 2007; Lankes et al., 2007;
Lutz and Meadow, 2006; Perry et al., 2005; McDonald and Uribe, 2008; Stephens, 2007b;
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Library
managers and
information
57
Received 29 July 2008
Revised 25 August 2008
Accepted 16 September
2008
Library Management
Vol. 30 No. 1/2, 2009
pp. 57-68
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120910927529
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