Submit or Resist: Librarianship in the age of Google
This article talks about ‘submitting’ to changing the library interface to become more like Google or ‘resisting’ to staying the same. It also talks about a mixture of the two.
The article was very interesting to read. I do agree that the library interface should be changed enough that there is a little easier time in using it but not enough to sacrifice the quality of responses from the search. Even when an end user uses Google Scholar, they must be careful with the articles they find, if they are not going to settle for ‘good enough’ and weeding out the non-scholarly material. I believe that careful watch of the RedLightGreen and ProQuest’s projects to see how they develop and are integrated in to the world of libraries and if they are more successful than the search engines that are out there right now.
What Literature?
Michael Cart is trying to prove that children’s books can be taken as literature.
In the article it said that many factors are competing for children’s attention today which is very true. So while children are not reading as often, librarians must help guide the child in the right direction to finding excellent literature. It is also interesting to think about that the publishers are producing more titles then ever when the libraries have less money available to them. Somewhere, someone thinks that children’s literature is a good investment and can help children through life’s problems but libraries are not getting the support they need to introduce all the new literature to children. As librarian, I will need to find the excellent literature and help guide the children to the books, so when they grow and start looking for books on their own; they will have a basis for looking for excellent literature.
Let Them Steal Books
The author, David Isaacson, talks about different kinds of book-stealing thieves.
I would not get on Isaacson’s bad side in stealing books because he has no mercy. As a librarian, I would not want to take a book out of the library simply because I do not want to take the time to check out the book. I also would not steal a book because I love it so much and not return it, however I would talk to a person who did steal a book because they loved it so much and then decide the course of action I would take.
Give Them What They Want
The author, Shirley Kennedy, has read the article Submit or Resist and responds that she advocates the use of Google.
As Kennedy lives in a unique situation that may be more common than I think, I still believe that there can be middle ground to work with. I know that I may start with Google but that is not where I will stay. As end users need resources and they have been shown how to use more academic sources, they may start with Google but continue to search in more academic places.
I agree with your assertion about google. Most of the time we do go to an easier source and then slowly go in a more complex direction. I think that it's similar to what we said in class where it's who decides what results are good enough.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your comment about children's literature and how to sort through the published material to find the gems that are created.