Take a walk on the Web 2.0 side to see what users want.

Byline: David Tebbutt

Take a walk on the Web 2.0 side to see what users want

David Tebbutt

In case you hadn't noticed, the world of your users is one of instant access to whatever they want. A walk to the library or information centre is rapidly becoming a niche activity. The computer screen, and what lies beyond, absolutely dominates the information-seeking parts of users' lives.

At least, that's the theory. But at two recent conferences involving library and information specialists, you would suppose the opposite. At one, populated by middle management, rejection of this new world was based on the "we already have more than enough to do without taking on all this fancy new stuff" argument. At the other, it was more a case of "how can the ordinary citizen navigate information sources and determine veracity?" (That one was overseas, and it's the best translation I can manage.)

Of course, the discussions were more subtle than that, but they were the core issues for each audience, who felt either they knew best or were too busy, or both. Yet the changes are staring them in the face, just as the smelly arrival of the internal combustion engine challenged ostlers and buggy whip makers.

Car drivers soon learned to find their way around, to drive safely and to dodge traffic jams. So it is with the web-using community. Surfers are learning to