>Maybe there are some libraries that do
>function more like bookstores, but as a
>researcher, I simply cannot accomplish
>what I need to in a bookstore, or using Amazon's
>approach to book metadata.
I was talking more in terms of public and public school libraries,
rather than research libraries, which are a different beast altogether.
I'm sorry I didn't make that clear.
>Bookstores stock what is currently available and
>what is popular - research isn't based on those things.
Most libraries in the country are public or public school libraries.
Research libraries - like other specialty ones - are another matter
altogether. Note that I am also talking about the OPAC (interface),
rather than the ILS system as a whole.
>librarians are educators who want patrons to find the
>*best* resources. Again, at least academic librarians.
>Maybe the public library world isn't as concerned.
>I would hope they would be, though.
Today's public libraries are not solely research oriented, or even
mostly so. When compared to academic libraries, they are often not as
well funded, tend to have less available space, and are in danger of
being shut down if their circulation numbers fall too far.
Though public librarians also want patrons to find the best resources,
the physical holdings in public libraries are typically far less
extensive than in academic ones. Patrons are most concerned with being
able to find what they want quickly and easily. "What they want" tends
to not include academic-level books - it's generally more in the line of
popular fiction, how-to books, science or history written for the
public, etc.
Given that, Amazon's interface works much better than most of the OPACs
out there, at least when it comes to public and public school libraries.
Jesse Ephraim
Youth Services Librarian
Southlake Public Library
1400 Main St., Ste. 130
Southlake, TX 76092
Email: jephraim_at_ci.southlake.tx.us
Phone: (817) 748-8248
FAX: (817) 748-8250
www.southlakelibrary.org
uncommonly friendly service
Received on Tue Sep 30 2008 - 12:22:54 EDT