Book Report!

The book that I read was  Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, by Henry Jenkins. The author is a media studies expert from MIT, and is writing from the position of a fan who has made his profession studying pop culture and fandom.  One main point of this work is the way that the internet has created a new relationship to media, as well as new ways for people to form relationships to each other. The consumption of culture has become social in a different way, creating new communities and new communication across physical boundaries. Fans have found each other and formed networks within which they can circulate their reactions and interpretations, going beyond the passive consumption of media. This communication and connection is one of the main benefits of the internet for librarians and library patrons as well as for fans and enthusiasts. Connecting with and helping people who are physically distant from your library is, to my eyes, the most important development currently taking place. Users no longer have to come to the reference desk to get support, help, and advice. The more channels open to them, the more likely they are to get the information they need from the library, and the more likely they are to want to reach out and ask for the help they need. Another important point is the need to understand the ways young people in particular interact with technology. Jenkins argues that adults are suspicious of adolescents' use of the internet because they don't understand it. Teens have a greater mastery of this skill, so it should be suppressed in order for adults to maintain their control. This is something that librarians need to work against. We, as a profession, should try to understand these developments and use them to have positive outcomes for everyone involved. Since people want to use new technologies, librarians should help them to use them to the greatest effect. Teach people how to find the best online resources and how to evaluate the quality of information they are being exposed to and think critically about it. This can be a step towards our society trusting our teens online. We can't keep them off the internet, we can only teach them how to use it widely. Like Dr. Jenkins, I feel that these new developments, while they can seem overwhelming and intimidating, can be very exciting and useful. We just have to try to understand them for what they are and figure out how we can put them to best use.