What is the real issue here?

Reviewing the last several days of discussion here, I wonder what the
real issue is?  That big companies have lousy tools (compared to the
literature).  Yet they appear to have a lot of success (million of users
and a viable businesses, at least in Google's case). Conversely, is the
issue that libraries have:
 
   * been in existence for hundreds of years
   * 50 years of solid, scientific applicable research in information
storage & retrieval theory
   * educated & helpful staff
 
and nobody gives a rats ass about us?  Is this more of the librarian's
inferiority complex.  The usual rejoinder to this is "Speak for
yourself."  No, thanks, I'll speak for and the to the profession.  The
FUD seem to grow yearly.  What do we do about it?
 
What are some of the other reasons Amazon and Google are successful?
Their systems are famously reliable; they work reasonably well all the
time.  What's more Amazon and Google's respective brands, products,
sales, marketing and services are unified in each company's web
presence.  Geez Louise, how may libraries can say anything even remotely
similar?  How many of us in library land (directors, managers, line
staff, paraprofessionals, board members, friends, etc) even think about
these questions.  HELLO?  BUSINESS PLAN?  MARKETING?  SALES?  CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION SURVEY (and something other than LibQual, thank you)?  What
can we do that Amazon and Google can't?  Is that difference relevant to
our users?
 
These are not technological issues and problems, they are human ones.
Without attention, time, people and money devoted to these issues we
don't know what our customers want.  We don't know what we need to start
(and more importantly STOP doing) to give our customers what they want.
We don't know (and perhaps are not willing to change) to give our
customers what they want.  We don't even ask "What do we do well and how
do we do more of it?"  Its almost as if the motto of library land is "At
least we don't suck."  Gee, that's elevating.
 
It seems to me the run-of-the-mill library catalog does an
unsatisfactory job, at best, of doing what the library staff want it to
do.  When, for heaven's sake, was the last time any of us asked our
customers what they want a catalog to do for them - and then find a way
to give that to them?
 
Mark
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Mark Andrews, MLS
Systems Librarian
DoIT Academic and eLearning Technologies
L 32 Reinert Memorial Alumni Library
402.280.3065
mja30807_at_creighton.edu
AIM: mja30807
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