The "Commericialized" Library

[Gerry Mckiernan]

                          _The "Commercialized" Library_

    Over the past several days, there have been a few interesting comments regarding the 'appropriateness' of the user of library banner 'ads' to promote library resources, collections, and services. These have been made in response to the announcement of a new registry that I have established called BANaRAMa(sm) 
[ http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/Banarama.htm ] which seeks to lists library Web site that use 'promotional banner pages / banner 'ads' .

   These comments raises a more general issue of what some may see as the emergence of "The  Commercialized Library" . By 'Commercialized Library' I mean the adoption by libraries of  techniques  used in the commercial sector for marketing products and services to 'market' library 'products' and 'services'.

     It is my professional belief that libraries and librarians have a professional responsibility to promote their collections, services and resources using any and all *effective* techniques. If banner ads' are effective, then they should be considered appropriate. [Here I am *not* addressing the issue of use of the banner 'ads' for unaffiliated corporate interests, although it has become quite common for corporate interests to display their 'banners ads' in variety of university venues, e.g. football stadia]] 
 
   BTW:  It is very important to note that the library banner 'ad' be garish.
I invite MyWebColleagues to (re) visit BANaRAMa(sm). This weekend I added several new sites, notably those of The New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library. I believe that these sites (as well as all the sites identified and listed to date) are not garish and that most visitors will find them effective [and therefore appropriate]

   I am also interested in expanding the discussion on the use of links from library resource guides to commercial sites. I am in the process of preparing a resource guide to support an upper course and am experimenting with linking the citation in my Web guide to the Amazon.com / barnesandnoble.com record to provide the user with additional information about the listed title. 

    I  consider this a selection decision and one that enhances the user's knowledge about the content of the book [Here I am not endorsing that the individual purchase the book, but am providing additional descriptive and evaluative information through the service][If the individual decides that the book is worth buying so much the better for him/her - the library has facilitated the use of the literature in an appropriate manner] - Every reader his book /  Every book its reader / S.R. Ranganathan (1931) [:-)]

      As Always, Any and All reactions, critiques, criticisms, cosmic insights, etc. to these issues are Most Welcome

/Gerry McKiernan
Commercialized Librarian
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011

gerrymck at iastate.edu 

               "The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Sell It!"
                                   With Apologies to Alan Kay