[Web4lib] google & library catalogs

[Jonathan Rochkind]

Of course, Open WorldCat HAS done exactly what Sara is suggesting. 
But I guess you guys are saying nobody but them should do it? I guess 
there is a risk of just creating a mess; but, hey, the user can 
always restrict their google search to just your domain (if they know 
how, a big if).  But I admit , I too am somewhat dubious of exactly 
what this would accomplish.

But. Here's a report from Library Journal of an experiment at the 
University of Buffalo from 2003 (does that pre-date OpenWorldCat? I 
forget), of someone trying to do what we're talking about (although 
not necessarily in quite the way Sara is imagining). You could try 
emailing Mark Ludwig at the email address given in the article, to 
find out what happened with that experiment.

Breaking Through the Invisible Web
Mark Ludwig (netConnect) - January 15, 2003
http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA266430&publication=libraryjournal

http://tinyurl.com/llapf

--Jonathan



At 3:28 PM -0700 4/10/06, K.G. Schneider wrote:
>  > Unfortunately this reminds me of the early, horrific days of Gopher,
>>  where book records from individual libraries started showing up in
>>  Veronica searches. The problem is the incredible noise that comes
>>  from locating 35,000 different records for Hamlet from 20,000
>>  libraries worldwide, and not a clue what to do with the information.
>>  I would argue strenously against doing this, and instead allow the
>>  very rational method of OCLC's Open WorldCat project to guide users
>>  to your library.
>>  Roy
>
>I'm with Roy on the problem, but what I'd like to know regarding the
>solution is whether people are finding libraries through Open WorldCat. Is
>it happening? It may be rational, but are people guided to libraries through
>it?
>
>Karen G. Schneider
>kgs at bluehighways.com
>
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