[WEB4LIB] RE: Postcards from Planet Google

Thu Dec 12 18:11:50 EST 2002

> 
> "Some even wonder if Google might be too much of a good thing. 'I use it
> myself, every day,' says Joe Janes, assistant professor in the information
> school of the University of Washington. 'But I worry about how over reliance
> on it might affect the skill-set of librarians.'"

I have to agree with Joe Janes on this one. 

Like Dr. Janes I use Google everyday but I also (and I hope others) use and 
know about other web search engines like AlltheWeb, Teoma, etc. In the past 
year these tools have improved big time. I also use specialty tools that get at 
some of the content that MIGHT be in Google but can get me to an answer more 
efficiently.

For example, if I'm looking for a ready reference answer I might turn to 
xrefer.com or a similar product. At the same time I recognize  (and I'm sure 
you do as well) and realize that it's not all in Google. Unfortunately, some of 
our colleagues and many end users first believed that web search equaled 
research and now have come to believe that Google equals research. 

At a conference in London last week a database vendor told me that she 
has heard from many librarians, "why do we need your product, it's in Google."  

I also think this "it's all in one place" idea also can/will/cause issues when 
those who sign the checks ask, why are we paying for this [Gale, Fativa, Ebsco, 
Dialog etc], database, Google is all we need."

Like I've said many times on this list and often mention on The ResourceShelf, 
it comes down a thorough knowledge of many products and tools for info pros. In 
other words the right tool for the job, the same mindset a good reference 
librarian has always had. Think resources not search engines.

In terms of end users some of the problem once again lies in how, where, and 
why we market our services and skills. It's one thing to have a collection of 
great set of databases (and printed tools) but it's something else altogether
to let users know WHAT the library offers and WHY they should or shouldn't use 
them.  

I've always considered the open web in general as a directory to answers. In 
some cases I will find a good and authoritative answer (info quality issues are 
another major concern) but in many cases I will not using Google, ATW, etc. 
However, I can use what I do find to get me closer to a satisfactory result. As 
I said at Internet Librarian, the telephone and now email are still vital 
reference tools. 

Btw, it's very easy to illustrate to info pros what Google and other web 
engines can't provide. Here are a few examples. 

1) A full-text article from the Wall Street Journal

2) Congressional Research Service reports linked via 
http://www.house.gov/shays/resources/leginfo/crs.htm. The page that contains 
the links to the actual reports uses a Robots.Txt file. 

3) Google allows no more that ten search terms in the search box. AlltheWeb has 
no limit. 

4) You can't truncate or do nested searching with Google. You can with 
AltaVista.

5) An article from Time magazine from 1998 (you would very likely find it via a 
ProQuest, Gale, Ebsco database. In fact, it might even be available full 
image). 

6) Searching with a controlled vocab

The Bottom Line:
Google is wonderful and a very important tool but other useful resources exist 
both on the web and via the web. 

Info pros should consider all resources. In many cases even if the answer is 
potentially in Google, how long will it take to find it? Will you or the patron 
enter the correct key words, will you browse long enough. 

Browsing and collection development is also useful and important. Use 
directories created by colleagues where quality matters. Resources like:
Infomine, LII, IPL, and RDN. These tools are also excellent collection 
development resources. 

I could go on but that's it for now. 

Btw, some recent web search engine stats that might be of interest. 

Source:
http://www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905358569&rel=true 

"According to a recent study from iProspect, three-quarters of Internet users 
use search engines. However, 16 percent of Internet users only look at the 
first few search results, while 32 percent will read through to the bottom of 
the first page."

"The study also indicates that 52.1 percent of Internet users choose the same 
search engine or directory when searching for information, while 35 percent 
alternate among a number of favorite search properties."

"Only 7.5 percent of Internet users said they refined their search with 
additional keywords in cases where they were unable to achieve satisfactory 
results."

cheers,
gary

Quoting "Sloan, Bernie" <bernies at uillinois.edu>:

> A couple of interesting excerpts:
> 
> "Google cofounder Sergey Brin puts it succinctly: 'I'd like to get to a
> state where people think that if you've Googled something, you've researched
> it, and otherwise you haven't and that's it.'"
> 
> And...

> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Euan Morton [mailto:euan.morton at xrxgsn.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 8:26 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: Postcards from Planet Google
> 
> and another piece on Google:
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/844175.asp
> plus -
> Will Microsoft ever support Linux?
> Analysts sketch near-future scenario; software giant scoffs
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/845822.asp?0si=
> 
> Sláinte
> 
> Euan Morton, CIBER @ Xerox
> Web Developer, Xerox Global Service Net
> http://www.ciber-roch.com/
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: web4lib at webjunction.org
> > [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Sloan, Bernie
> > Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 5:25 PM
> > To: Multiple recipients of list
> > Subject: [WEB4LIB] Postcards from Planet Google
> >
> >
> > An interesting item on Google from the New York Times:
> >
> >
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/28/technology/circuits/28goog.html?ex=103983
> 9996&ei=1&en=7bf79a367355d0ab>
> 
> Bernie Sloan
> Senior Library Information Systems Consultant, ILCSO
> University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting
> 616 E. Green Street, Suite 213
> Champaign, IL  61820
> 
> Phone: (217) 333-4895
> Fax:   (217) 265-0454
> E-mail: bernies at uillinois.edu
> 
> 
> 
> 

-- 

Gary D. Price, MLIS
Librarian
Gary Price Library Research and Internet Consulting
gary at freepint.com

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