Technological advances in the past several years have enabled libraries to create new services that before were not possible, such as virtual reference, personalized OPAC interfaces, or downloadable media that library customers can use in the comfort of their own homes. This increase in available technologies gives libraries the ability to offer improved, customer-driven service opportunities.
Libraries are in the habit of providing the same services and the same programs to the same groups
, Stephens believes that “Library 2.0 will be a meeting place, online or in the physical world, where [library users'] needs will be fulfilled through entertainment, information, and the ability to create [their] own stuff to contribute to the ocean of content out there.”
. It's never been easy to reach this group with physical services, because libraries are constrained by space and money and cannot carry every item that every user desires
Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired, who coined the phrase in an article of the same name in 2004, argues that the demand for movies or books that are not hits far outnumbers the demand for those that are hit
Going after the diverse long tail requires a combination of physical and virtual services