Information: Only as good as the source!

Michael Ridley's short article, The Reputation Engine, reminds us that, in the growing world of "social" information sources, who you know is becoming an important gateway to what you know. He asserts that a computer-based "reputation engine" which would rate these human "sources of information" (or allow users to rate each other as sources) should be maintained -- if it were to exist -- by libraries: the already-trusted source of reliable information in society.

Reputation Engine or not, this article makes me think of two things. One: libraries can and should have a key role in the public's understanding of the importance of Web 2.0, and, Two: school libraries in particular need to emphasize student learning around effective use of Web 2.0 tools, as well as keeping students mindful of the "digital reputations" they create for themselves as they go.