>>
Are we trying to make catalogs into something that they don't really
need to be? We constantly hear that Amazon is "the competition." Is
it, really? We're not trying to sell books. Libraries are not just
books, but space, computer and internet access, services, etc.
>>
The trick is just to figure out where we fit in. We're not the only
outfit affected by the internet. The Postal Service had to figure out
what to do when everyone switched to email. Travel agents had to
adjust when people could buy their own tickets. The music industry had
to accommodate the need for downloadable music. Newspapers had to
retool when people started turning to the web.
The Postal Service made pathetic attempts to provide email services,
but it didn't work because email and mail really are different animals
even if people use them to fulfill a similar need. Likewise, just
because something involves information doesn't mean that we're good at
it. Rather, we need to find what value we offer and not rely too much
on our branding and the fact that people feel good about libraries.
On the nextgen catalog issue, any model built around every library
maintaining their own catalog is fundamentally broken. It is insane
for thousands of libraries to download the same data onto machines
scattered throughout that are barely more than toys, maintain parallel
staff to perform the same duties and aforementioned machines and data,
run these operations as silos and then work on all problems in
parallel fashion.
Someone once told me that you should never let a crisis go to waste
because they offer an opportunity to really think about things and
advance. Things are already improving. More libraries are recognizing
that the action for nonunique services and materials needs to be moved
upstream to larger networks.
kyle
--
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Kyle Banerjee
Digital Services Program Manager
Orbis Cascade Alliance
banerjek_at_uoregon.edu / 541.359.9599
Received on Fri Feb 13 2009 - 12:08:47 EST