Library 2.0 theory is ready to be tested against the information age by librarian leaders in the 21st century. Librarians who understand the benefits of both community-driven change and monitoring trends in emerging information and communication technology (ICT), can be called librarians 2.0, ‘contemporary librarians,’ or 21st century librarians. Even though the world is changing, librarians still hope to remain relevant by continuously learning new ways to empower library patrons.
Librarian leadership in the information age illustrates a mentality of patron empowerment. A 21st century librarian must help library patrons contextualize information by delivering relevant resources and providing/recommending the support services required to gain knowledge and wisdom from these resources. Librarian leaders possess the wisdom to listen to market conversation in order to realign library services to meet the technology expectations of existing (and potential) library patrons and compete in a global market – augmented with ICTs.
21st century librarians work with diverse members of the library community and ICTs to stimulate positive patron-centered change. Librarians in the information age incorporate teamwork, creativity, and flexibility into their work. Collaboration, knowledge-sharing, diversity, and leadership are all practices that 21st century librarians must demonstrate during these time of evolutionary and revolutionary changes in information seeking and human communication.
