#15 The Future Is Now : Are Computers Going to the Cats!?!

I viewed "The Machine Is Us/ing Us" & think it's pretty slick. (Does anyone remember HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey--movie &/ or book)? Sadly I understood little of "The Machine" or most of the articles I read. Here's my two cents worth on the future of libraries & all this technology:

ACCESS: It's hard for me to decide at this point in time whether this is exciting or just plain scary. When a "whole way of life" changes, especially at a rapid rate, it's certain to leave lots of people behind. On the other hand, as I delve delicately & tentatively into this world of Web 2.0, focusing on Library 2.0 & the future of libraries, I can see it's where we are destined to go--for better or worse. (Call me a flaming fatalist!) Access to information all to often has smacked of elitism. Web 2.0 can eradicate this inequity as long as the "machines" & their power sources are available to everyone at all times; however, I am skeptical on this point having lived in remote locales where access is questionable due to lack of $ & infrastructure. It's comforting to have a paper back up when the power goes out for days!
PACE OF CHANGE (not change of pace!): I'm no dummy; however, being assimilated into this rapidly, ever changing culture of accessing, sharing, & delivering info is a daunting task. I joke about being a RSS--Really Slow Senior. If I weren't working my way through these "23 Things" as a part of my job, I'd be up that proverbial creek without a paddle! I hardly even know what questions to ask anymore. Just when I get a acquainted with a new tool/technology, it's changed. A "Jane-of all-trades & master of none."
QUALITY: For my $, all this social networking will never take the place of the real thing. When I think of our library, the largest part of this place is the community. It represents many things to many people. It is a place to gather, and not just behind a computer screen!
I'm concerned, too, re the quality of the info most people (including lots of school kids) find on the Web. It's one thing to access reliable databases & resources; however, all too often it takes time & experience to get the "good stuff" as opposed to the junk--and there's tons of junk. Where do start when there are thousands of hits? When there are no sign posts pointing you in the "right" direction?
Enough already! I meandering & could go on ad nauseum. Besides no one will read this.
PS That is not my cat. My pets are only allowed to listen to Audio Books. Well, they can't read yet!