[Web4lib] Who's afraid of Google?

[Beatrice Pulliam]

I'd be more inclined to think that we're just not at the table (again) or at
the kiddie table permanently.  I'm personally still in the "only thing we
have to fear is..." camp. Because I think I have a handle on the limitations
of Google, I'm less likely now to light a torch/sound a battle cry.    We DO
have it within our power to make ourselves more relevant, make our tools
"model user behavior", make them useful in the appropriate context, etc.  I
just had an IM exchange with a user looking for an article from a scientific
journal.  Student's prof said it could be found "online at the library or in
Google". I initially only had a title (not full or exact) to go on, so for
kicks I popped it into GS.  Nothing even after I took out the usual stop
words.  Following a hunch, I found it PubMed, with the same incomplete
title.  The student needed more articles and asked if "PubMed had a search
engine she could use" which enabled me to impart some useful info about
PubMed and the benefit of using a database vs. Google (in this instance).
This all happened in about 5-7 minutes. The challenge now for me is how can
I make this a bit simpler for the next user? 

Beatrice

Beatrice R. Pulliam
Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor
Phillips Memorial Library
Providence College
549 River Avenue
Providence, RI  02918
401.865.2891
http://www.providence.edu/Academics/Phillips+Memorial+Library/
IM: pclibchat (AIM/iChat/Yahoo) 


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Sloan, Bernie
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 12:21 PM
To: Web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Who's afraid of Google?

I thought it was interesting that there was no mention of libraries in this
piece.

Seems like we do a lot of fretting about how people think of Google before
they think of the library when it comes to information seeking, etc., and
how this might impact the future of libraries and library services. But
libraries aren't listed as being threatened or showing signs of panic.

Maybe we're not as threatened as some people might think, or maybe libraries
don't carry as a high a profile as publishers, software vendors, etc. Or
maybe libraries are viewed as Google "buddies" because quite a few libraries
partner with Google?

Bernie Sloan

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of
S.J.Newman at brighton.ac.uk
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2005 7:17 AM
To: Web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] Who's afraid of Google?

Everyone. According to Wired at
http://wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/google.html
<http://wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/google.html> 


Steve

Steve Newman
Networked Information Services Manager
University of Brighton, UK
+44 (0)1273 642637

InterAction: newsletter of Information Services see
http://interact.brighton.ac.uk/is/interaction
<http://interact.brighton.ac.uk/is/interaction> 


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib at webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib at webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/