After writing over 900 words about Seth’s Godin’s Tribes for my context book report (I posted a much shorter version on my blog) I decided to work on Research Paper Option #2, “a paper  that centers on the main concepts or ideas of your chosen context book….[and] demonstrate how those concepts or ideas apply to the value set, philosophies, theories, or issues of Library 2.0 and/or Web 2.0.”
For my paper I will use Godin’s Tribes, as well as Born Digital by Palfrey and Gasser. I started reading Born Digital yesterday and from the sections I’ve looked at so far it seems that  Palfrey and Gasser will provide good tips and tools for librarians, teachers, and parents to help our users, a good number of whom are “Digital Natives” become responsible and productive Digital Citizens who have the potential to be the leaders Godin describes. 
 
I haven’t fleshed out the connections between Tribes and Born Digital, but at this starting point the two books seem to work well together.  I will also draw in some ideas from Casey and Savastinuk, as well as articles from the professional literature.
 
A few things have been going through my mind as I’ve started gathering articles:
- How do libraries create an environment where both “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” can feel at home, in other words how do we create a balance so as not to alienate one group or the other?
- Furthermore, how do we create space for those Digital Settlers or those who use digital technologies, but may not be craving their application in library services.
- How can libraries create an environment that can foster potential library leaders and harness the power of the ones we already have, while keeping the ideas of participatory service in mind.
If anyone is interested in taking a look at Born Digital, check out the website for the book.  In their Introduction Urs and Palfrey comment that technology and information changes so quickly that by the time readers get their hands on a copy of the book the information may be obsolete, the website has a link to their Digital Natives Project, which includes their latest research and findings.
Born Digital

Born Digital