Philosophy of Technology

My philosophy of technology, as it applies to life in general and to libraries in particular, is that the technology itself is neutral: it is the users of technology who determine its ultimate value as they use it in ways that are both good and bad.

I think that the use of technology by libraries has been very good overall, and that the adoption of various new technologies by libraries over the course of the past fifty years or so has done a great deal to improve libraries and to help them meet their goal of better serving their users.

Some examples of technologies adopted by libraries in the second half o the Twentieth Century include the development of Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) in the 1960s, the beginnings of computer networks and online services in the 1970s, the creation of Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs) in the 1980s, and the birth of the World Wide Web in the 1990s.

Today in the Twenty-First Century, more new interesting and exciting technological advances are being made than ever before, and accordingly, librarians and all users of technology need to evaluate the neutral technology before deciding whether to adopt it or not, so that they will have a full understanding of it and how to best use it.

I believe that it is this understanding on the part of users that leads to neutral technology being used in good ways, and a lack of understanding that results in it being used in ways that are seen as bad.

I'm looking forward to enhancing my understanding of technology as a result of being in this class, and I hope to be able to share my understandings with others through this blog, so that we can all become good users of technology.