library 2.0: goatees required?

"This librarian does not buy technology for the sake of technology. 'Techno-worship' does not exist here. Without a firm foundation in the mission and goals of the institution, new technologies are not implemented for the sake of coolness and status." Goatees, however, are another matter. I was happy to note at Valley that Ellen had replied to a child's request for a Wii station with an earnest assurance that we are researching the matter -- and why not? In my opinion, keeping up with popular and cool technology and perhaps implementing that techonology promptly is not a bad way to inspire some kids to learn. After all, I learned to type as a kid by playing King's Quest on my parents old IBM computer. And because the game starred such weird and creepy characters as Medusa, I went to the library and checked out whatever books I could about Greek mythology, which lead to a whole other bevy of intellectual pursuits. The great thing about it was: I had no idea that I was meandering along the random pathways of learning. This was an excellent thing, because I tended to be the sort of kid that grew bored and tuned out whenever I felt like I was being "lead" somewhere (hence my baffling stupidity at math). So game on, I say, maybe not in spite of it being cool and popular but perhaps even because it's cool and popular. All of those little kids elbowing one another out of the way as they sprint toward the learning stations clearly agree with me.