Re: coverage of google book viewability API

From: Bob Duncan <duncanr_at_nyob>
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:08:15 -0400
To: CODE4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
On Tue, 6 May 2008 20:24:47 -0400
  Tim Spalding <tim_at_LIBRARYTHING.COM> wrote:
> 0.2% full text? Yowch!
>
> Do academic libraries with full-text versions of the book on their
> shelves really want to point people to no-preview pages on Google.
> That's like a dating site with no photos of the members, and the
> profiles omit everything but their favorite potato variety.

I think that depends how you view information services to your patrons.  If
you think full text is the end-all-be-all, then I say double-yowch.  But if
you think there's more to information than full-text, then perhaps you might
think that patrons will benefit from the other information one can get via
GBS.  I've seen books that didn't have a preview or full text, but GBS offered
links to reviews, author interviews, ToCs, summaries, etc.

Bob Duncan

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Robert E. Duncan
Systems Librarian
David Bishop Skillman Library
Lafayette College
Easton, PA  18042
duncanr_at_lafayette.edu
http://www.library.lafayette.edu/
Received on Tue May 06 2008 - 19:47:20 EDT