The prophets of doom are predicting the end of librarianship as it has been known.
Printed journals are being dumped, the “punters” are just “Googling”, and the e-book is
threatening to burst through at any moment. Will there be a role for librarians in five
years time? In my opinion, I think it will be a different one with information literacy
(IL) at its core. The so-called Google generation’s technical ability is easily overstated
and they are no more able to search and evaluate effectively than their forebears.
Librarians cannot simply use their tried and trusted methods from the days of user
education, and will need to employ more engaging and active methods to reach their
patrons. Web 2.0, by its emphasis on the user and participatory character, fosters
innovatory approaches which should be more fun. Recently there has been some
evangelising and examples of good practice. As we shall see this is going beyond hype,
but these are early days and it is impossible to quantify the activity. It is clear that the
Web 2.0 “mantra” has arrived, is irreversible, and that experimentation is happening
and will spread unpredictably. That is the nature of Web 2.0.