[WEB4LIB] Re: We need an Internet Literary Database

[Debra Lords]

Why does it have to wait to be a money maker?  What happened
here?  Did libraries die out from under me while I was working on
computers?  Did all the librarians drop off the face of the earth
in some huge maelstrom that went unreported because no one
cared?  

A literary database of the sort you talk about is what librarians
are supposed to do.  The central storage arena for theses -- who
developed that?  Not profit minded entrepreneaurs.  Librarians. 
Who has cooperatively worked on shared cataloging of major
microform sets?  No bottom profit line here.  Librarians.  A
friend of mine asked if the library profession is dying.  Maybe
it is.  These are the types of things librarians used to pull
together and do, dragging non-access out of the mud.  Did
technology destroy the ability to do that?  I don't think so.  

So the ALA cooperative efforts, research library efforts, all
those massive projects that used to get done are still needed. 
Technology doesn't change that. So its time for one of the
librarians committees to start working on getting it done. 
Create the solution to the need.  Don't wait for an entrepreneur
to do it.  Take care of the patrons.  If you don't, who will?  If
a method doesn't exist, why not create the method?

-- 

Debbie

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Debra Lords			Experience is what you
dlords at library.utah.edu		have just right after 
ACLIS Labs			you need it.
585-9810


"Paul H. Gray" wrote:
> 
> Welcome to the real world  -- where every major advance or undertaking in
> recent memory has happened because someone saw a chance to make a profit.
> The kind of undertaking you are talking about will happen only/if/when some
> creative soul finds a way to make money from doing it.
> SO -
> This is a great idea -- some of of you creative/greedy souls get busy :-)
> 
> > On Sat, 25 Mar 2000, Hanan Cohen wrote:
> >
> > [...]
> > > The web needs an Internet Literary Database, similar to the Internet
> > > Movie Database, so we can link to books without looking like we're
> > > trying to sell you something.
> >
> > The irony bere being that IMDB is run by Amazon.com.
> >
> > I do believe someone pointed out a site/service the other day that allowed
> > you to link to it with an ISBN as an argument, and that site would then
> > redirect you (based upon previously set preferences ala cookie) to
> > any one of a number of reference sites and/or booksellers.
> >
> http://www.linkbaton.com/
> 
> Currently, the only options for LinkBaton linking to books appear to be
> commercial, mainly online booksellers.
> 
> There are many possibilities if you toss Library of Congress, Z39.50,
> local web-based catalogs, and a few others into the mix.
> 
> I do believe linkbaton is open source, or soon to be. Unable to find any
> reference to it on the site.
> 
> -jeff
> 
> --
> Jeff Godin
> Network Specialist
> Traverse Area District Library / Traverse Community Network
> jeff at tcnet.org - 231/932-8546 voice