There are many strategies we might choose for starting on the path toward transforming ourselves into 2.0 institutions. I suggest kicking off a pledge for transformation with a day-long retreat.

By retreat, I mean reserving a day in the library in which most day-to-day work is suspended and staff engages in a number of planned activities. These activities would be geared toward staff that are new to the 2.0 concept as well as those who have begun experimentations. A series of accomplishments and action steps would be the outcome measurements. And the day should be fun!

If you can get an agreement to do a retreat, you've got buy-in from administrators that 2.0 is a worthy goal. As I've said before, bottom-up initiatives are necessary, but administrator buy-in is crucial to making fundamental change across the board. In fact, your most important accomplishment of the day might be getting administrators to agree to - and participate in - the retreat.

Staff would be primed for the retreat with readings and a list of Web resources that lay the foundations. On retreat day, I can envision a series of activities taking place in different locations throughout the library. Staff can go from place to place to hear talks, view demos, watch webcasts, site at workstations to try things out and join groups to create something new. Find students to give some of the talks and demos and to help with some of the activities. Enthusiastic, savvy students steeped in 2.0 culture are ideal ambassadors for change.

A retreat would need to be carefully planned so that the outcomes would be worthwhile. Gaining skills with specific tools is one obvious outcome, and you can plan for more concrete achievements, too. For example: An accomplishment might be a basic library page on MySpace. A follow-up action step would be to refine and market the page. Another accomplishment might be a podcast of a library news item. A follow-up action step would be to establish a podcasting program with a Web presence and RSS feed.

Encourage staff to blog the retreat. Put the day's final goals and actions steps on a wiki and revise these documents as progress is made. Use third-party software (e.g., WordPress, PBwiki) until you can consider in-house hosting possibilities.

Consider promoting a 2.0 retreat as a New Year's resolution. I intend to practice what I preach when I return from my sabbatical in early spring. Wish me luck!