Professions don't stand still.

Michael Stephens over at Tame the Web has posted a fantastic post titled 'Professions Do Not Stand Still'. I particularly liked the first paragraph he quoted from Blog About Libraries:

Have you ever met a plumber who doesn't work with PVC? An electrician who only uses knob and tube wiring? A firefighter who thinks those new fangled breathing masks are just too complicated? No, professionals who don't keep up with the technologies that affect their work go out of business. Librarianship is not immune to that.

That is such a true statement. In a law library, it's not as pressing an issue, but as times goes on, there are going to be expectations that the services provided by the library are current and making the best use of the technologies available. Technology is not the be all and end all of the profession, but it's important that we know how and why to use it.

David Lee King has been making a number of posts on just that topic lately, starting with his 'Am I a 2.0 Librarian and the Library 2.0 Spectrum' post. After focusing on the technology aspects of Library 2.0 in that post, he followed up with a post 'Library 2.0 - Is it Techie Or Not?' about how important technology is to the provision of a library 2.0 service. And really, library 2.0 isn't about the technology - it's about taking the technology that's there, and providing a fantastic service for your users. And ultimately, that means keeping up with what's available. It's a continuous process. Technology is constantly changing, and so too will the services that we can provide.

There will always be the early adopters, those who are constantly picking up new technology. And within the library sector, or even the legal library sector, it's important that the ones on the edge are sharing their knowledge with others. As a knowledge sharing profession, we need to all be involved in keeping each other up to date. That's what I love so much about the 'biblioblogosphere' - we're all out there, sharing, discussing and learning from each other. It's an amazing thing to be a part of.