[Web4lib] A Delicious Future for Libraries?

[Peter Morville]

Karen, there's no way I'll argue against your point about usability. Every
barrier, no matter how small, will deter people from finding or reading or
sharing information. And we're still waiting for a digital solution
(e-books, e-paper) or a hybrid solution (Internet bookmobile on the desktop)
that really works. I do think that simply making valuable texts available
online (and therefore more findable and accessible) can make a meaningful
difference in some people's lives, but clearly there are broader
sociocultural influences as well, and of course, reading is no longer
enough. Here's an excerpt (see below) that touches on this issue of
literacy...and the chapter is available online for free...

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ambient/chapter/ch01.pdf

...no need to buy the book :-)


Peter Morville
President, Semantic Studios
http://semanticstudios.com
http://findability.org

---

Information Literacy -- from Ambient Findability, page 7

The average child in the United States watches four hours of television
every day. These kids are exposed to 20,000 commercials annually. They see
8,000 onscreen murders by the time they finish grade school. Is this a good
thing? As a society, we send mixed signals. On the one hand, we condemn the
evils of television. Authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics
warn that TV viewing may lead to more aggressive behavior, less physical
activity, and risky sexual behavior. Newspaper headlines blame television
for our epidemics of violence, obesity, and illiteracy. And yet, we let our
children watch it. Perhaps we question the authorities and doubt the
headlines. Perhaps we lack the time or energy to intervene. Or perhaps we
trust that things will be okay because all the other kids are watching too.
Perhaps.

Whenever I hear about the dominance of television and the decline of
literacy, I experience a disconnect. While I do fear for the health of this
mediasaturated generation, I don't worry about their ability to read and
write. Our culture does not reward illiteracy. On the contrary, it's almost
impossible to function in modern society without mastering the skills of
written communication. If you can't fill out a form, you're in trouble. The
literacy rate in the United States is 97%. It's 99% throughout most of
Europe. Basic literacy is not in danger. However, it's also not enough. 

Our children are inheriting a media landscape that's breathtaking and
bewildering. Books, magazines, newspapers, billboards, telephones,
televisions, videotapes, video games, email messages, text messages, instant
messages, web sites, weblogs, wikis, and the list goes on. It's exciting to
have all these communication tools and information sources at our disposal,
but the complexity of the environment demands new kinds of literacy. Gone
are the days when we can look up the "right answer" in the family
encyclopedia. Nowadays there are many answers in many places. We can find
them in Microsoft Encarta or in the Wikipedia. We can find them via Google.
There is so much to find, but we must first know how to search and who to
trust. In the information age, transmedia information literacy is a core
life skill.