Is Library 2.0 belong to reference service?

[Celine Chen]

Actually, Library 2.0 isn't that common in Taiwan so far. My team and I are doing a project which is about library 2.0 rite now. Our team really appreciate to know this website and help us to find out some questions.

could you please kindly explain to us if Library 2.0 is belong to reference service? or how to define " reference service" in Library 2.0?

Please advise us what's your opinion, with many thanks.

[Dennis McMullen]

While I love the 2.0 sites, I believe that most 2.0 tools are not useful at the reference desk. Wikipedia is one tool that I recommend highly and Google will be introducing knol sometime early in 2008. Knol will be similar to Wikipedia, only the articles will be authored by individuals rather than mass collaboration. I also believe that online reference will continue to be popular. I spend 3 hours a week answering a steady flow of questions for my statewide online reference service. I love delicious but not as a method to bookmark information which patrons may ask for. I find that I can usually locate reference information faster with a nice simple google search. On the other hand 2.0 tools are great for keeping up to date with technology and the library world. I use bloglines , delicious and digg to keep me current. Wiki's are also great for publishing local information, so the reference department can also be a producer of information. We still are not sure what kind of affect virtual worlds will have on reference services. It doesn't seem likely, but it may be possible that in 5 years we will all have an avatar and have to spend time at our libraries' reference desk in Second Life.