LEARNING 2.0: A TRAINING PROJECT FOR THE GREEK LIBRARIANS AND INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS Vera Kriezi (v.kriezi@megaron.gr) Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri” Vas. Sofias & Kokkali 1, 11521, Athens, Greece Damiana Koutsomiha (dkouts@afs.edu.gr) Dimitris & Aliki Perrotis Library, American Farm School Marinou Antypa 12, 55102, Thessaloniki, Greece Polina Borisova (borisova@benaki.gr) Neohellenic Architecture Archives, Benaki Museum Peiraios 138 & Andronikou, 11854, Athens, Greece Emmanouel Garoufallou (mgarou@libd.teithe.gr) Library and Information Systems Department, A.T.E.I. of Thessaloniki P.O. Box 141, 57400, Thessaloniki, Greece Andreas K. Andreou (andlib@ucy.ac.cy) University of Cyprus Library, 75 Kallipoleos Str., 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus Ioanna Andreou (iandreou@haef.gr) Hellenic American Educational Foundation, Athens College/Psychico College Library, Stefanou Delta 15, 154 52, Athens, Greece Georgia Katsarou (gkatsa@dikemes.edu.gr) International Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies/ College Year in Athens Library Plateia Stadiou 5, 11635, Athens, Greece Panorea Gaitanou (rgaitanou@ionio.gr) Department of Archives and Library Science, Ionian University, Ioannou Theotoki 72, 49100, Corfu, Greece Abstract A research conducted in 2008 amongst Greek and Cypriot Librarians and Information Scientists, by the group named GreekLIS (www.greeklis.org), indicated the need for further development of lifelong learning programs regarding the Web 2.0 technologies and their implementation in library online services. As a result, the research group decided to design and offer through its web page an open online learning project, also known as Learning 2.0 project, publicly available to anyone with Internet access, providing instructions and directions for librarians, on the effective and efficient use of Web 2.0 tools and applications. The prototype of the Learning 2.0 project was translated and adjusted to fit the specific needs of Greek librarians and information professionals. The program’s goal is to leverage the knowledge of Greek librarians in order to make them more competitive in the new world of information evolution. Furthermore, the paper aims to examine the implementation of a strategy for the best- required practices in order to further the development of this program through its evaluation. Keywords: web 2.0, library 2.0, learning 2.0, GreekLIS, lifelong learning 1. INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the 21 st century, lifelong learning programs that introduce Web 2.0 technologies have been increasingly important to libraries. There is substantial literature: library conference presentations and publications are filled with Web 2.0 related topics. So, what is Web 2.0? It is believed that the concept of “Web 2.0” began with a conference brainstorming session between Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty in 2004. Tim O'Reilly used the term in his article “What is Web 2.0” in 2005 to describe the design patterns and business models for the next generation of web software following the technology market crash in 2001. The term “Library 2.0” was first used by Michael Casey in his blog, Library Crunch in 2005. Library 2.0 visualizes a very different library service that operates