If you look around you, you will notice that very few aspects of your life are unaffected by technology. You are reading on a computer screen instead off on a book page. Your newspapers are delivered to your smart phone, and pay phones don't even exist anymore. Your toaster has a digital timer on it, your car is run by a computer, and automated traffic cameras make sure everyone drives safely. Even your television is a digital model that can cooperate with everything from your internet router to your video game system. With everything that has changed in the last ten or twenty years, did you really expect libraries to stay the same?

We are moving into the age of Library 2.0. Libraries, which were previously just large rooms full of dusty old books, are now becoming increasingly digital. The revolution began with the replacement of the old card cataloging system. Although Dewy Decimal's system is still used to code and classify books, their titles and information are now cataloged and stored in computer programs such as Symphony, which allow multiple regional libraries to operate a cooperative catalog system that makes book sharing between branches and online searching by patrons possible.

This digital card catalog has made it much easier for patrons to use the library. Where once all of their questions had to be presented in person to a librarian, they can now do their own searches online through the library's cataloging system - even from home. Almost all libraries have this remote catalog search function as well as an additional system that allows users to log in with their library card number and check up on their library account, accessing information like books checked out, books requested, unpaid bills, and more. Patrons can even renew or request books through this internet interface.

There was one link to the physical that couldn't be cut out of the system as long as books were printed on paper is the visit to the library to pick up the book. Now, with the advent of e-books, even that is no longer necessary. Most 2.0 capable libraries have online borrowing systems for e-books and audio file books that allows patrons to request, download, and return books using programs like Overdrive, iTunes, and Adobe Digital Editions. Borrowing times are even limited automatically to two weeks, and unlike printed books, these files can never be lost or stolen.

If you have a laptop computer, mp3 player, tablet computer, or e-book reader, you can participate in Library 2.0. Visit your local library's website to see what digital age features it is able to offer. You will also likely find a downloadable guide to using the features associated with Library 2.0. If not, you can attend an information session at your library branch or browse through our extensive selection of articles on Library 2.0 features such as digital catalogue searching and downloading ebooks.