> I certainly don't think "marketing" or "branding" is the answer.
> Google didn't establish itself through marketing. And, absent
> marketing, the web site with a silly name ought to have been at a
> disadvantage to the massively-financed government institution with a
> branch in every town, school and college. There are ten times as many
> libraries as Starbucks in this country.
>
> Every time libraries talk about the "powers that be" they should
> remember *they* are the powers that be. Their combined financial and
> mindshare power is enormous. They don't need to make money, but only
> provide a service people want. Something else is to blame for Google's
> success than bad branding.
All this forgets the inconvenient fact that these thousands of
libraries for the most part have their own individual governing bodies
(around 80% in 2006).
Google on the other hand has one Board of Directors, one CEO, one
chain of command.
I'm not disputing that libraries should be doing a better job in many
areas, only pointing out that the challenge of coordination is far
from trivial.
Cab Vinton, Director
Sanbornton Public Library
Sanbornton, NH
Received on Fri May 08 2009 - 12:11:36 EDT