Library 2.0 OPAC? not in my Illinois Library System yet.

I find the idea of a OPAC that includes user content and access to websites intriguing. Our consortium has 80 different libraries (Public, Special, and Academic) using the same catalog. I have admired Boston PL OPAC, but have been told that we can't have something like that because we are too big. In Illinois, our systems are dissolving due to lack of funding. Consortium members are clinging to SWAN, our OPAC right now. Our customers still want access to traditional print and non-print materials (CDs, DVDs, video games). We have roaming holding where items move from library to library and do not return to the owning library until all holds have been filled.

At the Matteson Public library, where I work, we have online databases for our patrons, an online tutoring source, and Bookflix for the little ones. These are subscription services that many of the libraries surrounding us cannot afford. They are only open to Matteson PL card holders from home. We still need the physical building to serve all patron needs. Also, free access is disappearing in some cases. There are many websites that are beginning to offer limited free access with a premium fee-based service. How libraries will become involved in these websites remains to be seen.