Amazon vs. Google as our corporate role model (was: In defense of

[Peter Murray]

Apologies for the delay in responding.  Interference from the day job...

Perhaps the best way to start to answer your question is to re-order
some paragraphs in your reply:

On 5/10/05 9:46 PM, JOHN MARQUETTE wrote:
| Absent the profit motive and with only the desire to provide goodwill
| remaining to us in the LIS professional community, what will motivate us
| and our organizations to provide uniform results for all users
| regardless of access method?  Isn't that everybody's goal, after all?
|
| Amazon's results are better most likely because the company wants the
| user to spend money, preferably on an item closest to the user's
| original intent, and capture that user so s/he becomes a regular
| customer.

We're starting to skate on thin ice here because there are no actual
users involved in this conversation, but I would propose that our motive
is to want the user to select quality resources for which we have spent
their money, preferably on an item closest to the user's original
intent, and capture that user so s/he becomes a regular patron.
(Another reason to like the Amazon-as-corporate-role-model, I suppose.)

No matter what type of library we work for, we are all in the service
industry of fulfilling the users' needs and making the best use of the
money they entrust in us.  (It should also be argued that we hold that
fiduciary responsibility not only for /today's/ users, but also for
those that seek information long after today -- and that makes us
distinct from commercial activities.)


Peter
-- 
Peter Murray                       http://www.pandc.org/peter/work/
Assistant Director, Multimedia Systems  tel:+1-614-728-3600;ext=338
OhioLINK: the Ohio Library and Information Network   Columbus, Ohio