New Producers,New Markets, New Tastemakers, Oh My!

How do libraries/librarians fill these roles? Well, first of all, they give ANYONE access to the tools to be producers. At the Princeton Public Library we have a great tech lab where anyone can learn to how to build websites, use digital video cameras and any tools that our web 2.0 world can come up with. Public libraries in particular play an important role by making sure everyone can have this access. Librarians also create New Markets and can be Tastemakers with creative and effective use of technologies like blogging and wikis, creating that word of mouth and buzz that Anderson talks about. Tools like podcasting also extend a library's reach far beyond the folks who physically come to a particular program. Its easy to spread the virus. It all goes back to the democratization of the web that Anderson explains so clearly...libraries play a big role in that by providing all that access and education.