There's an interesting quote in this LJ article:
"LJ queried whether Google is using WorldCat data. Google metadata point man Jon Orwant responded, '...We get a nearly-full OCLC feed and it substantially improves the quality of our metadata. We've been using it for years and are happy with it. We also get individual library catalogs and commercial data feeds. We have over 100 metadata sources...'"
This begs a couple of questions:
1. If Google has been getting "a nearly-full OCLC feed " of metadata from OCLC "for years" why is the library world only just now finding out about it? Why did it take a persistent Karen Coyle to pry this information out of them?
2. If Google has been getting "a nearly-full OCLC feed " of metadata from OCLC "for years" and "it substantially improves the quality of [their] metadata" why do we see the problems that folks like Geoff Nunberg have pointed out?
Also Google's Jon Orwant is quoted as saying: "We have over 100 metadata sources." To me that says that non-librarians don't hold library metadata in the same high regard that librarians do. Our metadata is only one of many sources used in Google Book Search.
Bernie Sloan
--- On Fri, 9/11/09, B.G. Sloan <bgsloan2_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
From: B.G. Sloan <bgsloan2_at_yahoo.com>
Subject: "So, Can Google Use OCLC Records? Yes, But"
To: "ngc4lib" <ngc4lib_at_listserv.nd.edu>
Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 4:20 PM
An article from Library Journal about a recent NGC4LIB thread...
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6695887.html
Bernie Sloan
Received on Fri Sep 11 2009 - 19:05:36 EDT