Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Gavin McChesney Stephen Abram gives a talk Friday on Web 2.0 and the use of technology in libraries in the Santa Vesta Room at the Sainte Claire Hotel in San Jose.

Public libraries are in the process of embracing today's technological resources to better serve people, according to a lecture Thursday at the Sainte Claire Hotel in downtown San Jose.

"Library 2.0 is using Web 2.0 tech innovations to create a library user experience," said Stephan Abram, vice president of innovation for SirsiDynix, a Canada-based company that provides technological solutions for libraries.

Abram said that libraries and librarians need to begin learning and utilizing the tools that today's generation is enthralled with, such as YouTube, Podzinger, iTunes, the countless amount of blogs and many others.

Abram, who gives approximately 100 keynote speeches a year, said that around 80 percent of public libraries in the world use his software, which helps give libraries a link to the ever-moving technology world.

"It's interesting to consider the possible futures for libraries and information science," said Rebecca Feind, information literacy coordinator for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library.

Abram noted that one of the main barriers is that the older baby boomer generation isn't used to such rapid tech innovations.

"Oh my God, I have to double-click - someone get me a course," Abram joked to the audience of about 80 people. "The reality is, we're going to have to prepare for massive incremental change."

Abram said new technologies and alternate resources aside from books are very important.

"Only about 20 percent of people are text-based learners," Abram said.

Another innovation in recent years has been Second Life, a three-dimensional virtual world where people can create an avatar, or character, and do anything from hitting up dance clubs or casinos to buying virtual land and starting a business, which some people have actually made a real-life living off of, according to www.secondlife.com.

Ken Haycock, director of the San Jose State University school of library and information sciences, said the school has just recently purchased its own island on Second Life, which the school will use to build learning resources that people can access in the virtual world.

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