[Web4lib] RE: [lita-l] Innovation: NYTarticleon Dewey-lessArizona public library

[Jimm Wetherbee]

Lin,

You wrote:
>  For years there has been the debate over "Give them what they want 'vs.'
> Give what we think they need". . . I think the Deweyless approach is just
> another spin on that approach. In reality, if we are to stay in business we
> need to adapt to our clientele wishes and needs (to a point that is
> practical), and this is just one library's attempt to do so.
>   
While, I would agree that is an instance of attempting meet patrons'
needs and expectations, the debate is closer to the best being the enemy
of the good.  We librarians have a well-founded suspicion that one will
not find the best or most appropriate resource simply by browsing.  On
the other hand, if one is not going use the systems we have in place to
find the best, patrons will either not find anything at all because they
won't bother  (or master the systems we have) or they will browse
through a collection that is not optimally arranged for that purpose. 
The alternative is to make the catalog more intuitive so that it "feels"
more like browsing while being more directed.  There is a lot of work in
that area (dynamic clustered searching, federated searching, etc.) but
there are still compromises even at that.  (Sigh) It's amazing that just
as the ILS seem to start to settle things down 15 or 20 years ago CD-ROM
and the Internet came along an blew everything back up.

--jimm