Thing 34. Is it competition? Online Answer sites.

I read all of the articles. Librarian 2.0--Interviews of the future of librarians was my favorite article. Jenna Freedmans interview spoke to my heart and head. I agree with her that librarians and libraries need to prioritize service to patrons and learn to value public service as much as shiny new tech toys! I also agree with the conclusion reached by Stephen Abram, the author of "Evolution to Revolution in Chaos". We(librarians) should start working today on a new world balance of personal service-virtual, in-person, and computer mediated. I also looked at the Mahalo and AskMetafilter answer sites. I can now understand why the public likes these sites. The answers to the questions I looked at were spot on. I also checked out the Slam the Boards wiki. I think that it is a good idea. Hopefully, the slam the Boards wiki will make the general public more aware of the tradition of public service provided by librarians.