Nathan,
OK...maybe I was criticizing you for stuff other folks had said previously. Sorry.
Going back to my original complaint about "good enough"...sometimes good enough is good enough. Librarians often use the term as a disparaging pejorative.
Regarding Jim's comment that "when something is 'good enough' it means that I will stop complaining about it." I don't buy that. I don't think "complaining" has much of anything to do with most people's view of "good enough". I think most people feel they've found something "good enough" well before the thought of "complaining" enters in. And if the info they find is good enough to help them sort out their questions, who's to judge?
You said "'MyRelevance' does not always cut it.". That's obviously true. There are many anecdotal examples of how this is true. But there also are probably many cases where "MyRelevance" does cut it, and for those cases "MyRelevance" may well wind up with a better answer than a librarian might provide. How does one determine when "MyRelevance" does or does not cut it?
Finally, you mentioned Jim's comments about the networking possibilities of librarians with highly specialized knowledge. You say "we ignore the significance of this at our own peril." You are 100% correct on this point!!! How do we make sure we don't ignore this at our own peril??
Bernie Sloan
"Rinne, Nathan (ESC)" <RinneN_at_DISTRICT279.ORG> wrote:
Bernie,
These are very fair points regarding my analogy, I think. Thanks.
However, let me tighten it a bit - my main point was to second James
Weinheimer when he said:
"The problem with "good enough" is that there is an unspoken assumption
that you know what is available. I may think that my doctor is "good
enough" until I find out he's a quack; my lawyer may be "good enough"
until I discover he's a shyster.
When something is "good enough" it means that I will stop complaining
about it. Somebody may think that the information in Wikipedia is "good
enough" until they find out that it's completely wrong." (end)
...this is related to my saying that "MyRelevance" does not always cut
it. Experts who devote themselves to making contact with reality and
faithfully mapping it for others - and the libs who attempt to
faithfully map them and their work - are important, and we ignore the
significance of this at our own peril (today all we seem to want to talk
about how knowledge *is* conversation, but this seems to be rather
anemic when taken by itself).
James' latest post where he talks about the networking possibilities re:
librarians with highly specialized knowledge simply builds on these
assumptions.
Regards,
Nathan Rinne
Media Cataloging Technician
ISD 279 - Educational Service Center (ESC)
11200 93rd Ave. North
Maple Grove, MN. 55369
Work phone: 763-391-7183
-----Original Message-----
From: Next generation catalogs for libraries
[mailto:NGC4LIB_at_listserv.nd.edu] On Behalf Of B.G. Sloan
Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 7:08 PM
To: NGC4LIB_at_listserv.nd.edu
Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] "To everything a purpose ..."
Nathan Rinne said:
"I think a good analogy for us to keep coming back to is the
physician. If I think its 'good enough' and 'relevant' to the hilt but
the prescription kills me, I've got a problem."
I don't think it's a good analogy.
Doctors and librarians play very different roles (some differences are
more obvious than others). A physician is alleged to be an "expert" in
his/her field. We go to a physician more or less looking for the one
right answer to our question/problem. The physician prescribes a
solution.
The role of the librarian is quite different (other than with
straightforward ready-reference questions). People come to the librarian
with a question, often in an area where the librarian is not an
"expert". The librarian usually recommends a number of sources as well
as suggestions for further research. The librarian does not "prescribe"
a solution to the question/problem. The librarian gives the user
information that hopefully will help the user determine his or her own
solution.
Bernie Sloan
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Received on Mon Sep 10 2007 - 19:53:31 EDT