We shouldn't be afraid of mechanisms that take care of ready reference (or
even sort-of-ready-reference) any more than we should be shaking in our
boots about publishers providing ONIX data, or about being able to get books
shelf-ready. We ought to be delighted about it (easy for me to say, so
close to retirement. *I* don't have to re-tool my career).
As to whether the data is clean and shaven ..... time will tell. Or maybe
it won't. I took a look at the YouTube video for that "Knowledge
Generator" that's being advertised on TV these days, and one of the answers
that scrolled by for what should have been an incredibly easy question to
answer (what athletic conference is XXXX university in) was wrong. But, my
guess is that the person who asked took the answer he got at face value.
Perhaps the only consequence of that wrong answer may be momentary
embarrassment at some time in the future (and when that happens, he can
blame it on a machine). But what if the percentage of right answers implied
by my HAPPENING to know the right answer to about the 20th question that
scrolled by is even kind-of-representative of the overall accuracy rate?
And what if the question answered wrongly were more important?
Just thinkin'
Janet Swan Hill, Professor
Associate Director for Technical Services
University of Colorado Libraries, CB184
Boulder, CO 80309
janet.hill_at_colorado.edu
*****
Tradition is the handing-on of Fire, and not the worship of Ashes.
- Gustav Mahler
Received on Mon May 04 2009 - 11:37:05 EDT