This picture has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but since I am thoroughly tired of winter and the snow that continues to fall, at least sporadically, I present this photo of tulips from last year's tulip festival in Skagit County! Within a month's time, this year's tulips should be in their glory!
And now, on to Web 2.0 and OCLC. For years, the library has had access to Worldcat through a pay-per-use subscription. Because it required typing in a user-name and password, which I could never remember without looking up, I used it very rarely. Then, a couple years ago, I started using the free access to Worldcat. The library still has the fee-based search service, which allows enhanced searching of additional databases, such as ERIC, MEDLINE, GPO and others, but, I really love being able to customize my options and search Worldcat through my personal account. I first found it, through Librarything, which gives you options when you find a book title, to search for ways to purchase or borrow the book through a library near you. The portal to the library is through Worldcat.
You can sign up for a personal account, which allows you to create lists of favorites, books you own, or want to own, and you can search for the nearest library which has the title you want to read. Even if you don't sign up for an account, by putting in your zip-code, the catalog will show libraries close by with mileage estimates for getting your book. For Spokane county residents, with quite a few different library systems close by, this makes it easy to tell if you are likely to have a longer or shorter wait for that Interlibrary Loan request. If you decide that you don't want to wait, if the book is in-print, or available through popular use-book sources such as Alibris or Abebooks, there is a sidebar with that search option available.
Worldcat also currently provides plug-ins for Facebook, Google and Firefox, which allow you to quickly search from those applications. There is also an application which works on the iPhone, which allows you to search and link to your home library anywhere you have access to your phone. Long gone are the days, when you could only make use of the library (and its card catalog) during the few hours the library was actually open!
While I do appreciate how convenient all of this is, I still feel that one of the most important services that the library provides is its physical presence and ambience. In her article, To A Temporary Place in Time..., Dr. Wendy Schultz discusses four levels of library service: Commodity, Product, Service and Experience. All are important, with Experience and how that comes across as something we must not forget as we plan for the future.
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