> I don't think OCLC's sharing of data *only* with Google fits my definition of sharing library metadata broadly for the public good.
It's the difference between controlled sharing and the sort of
radical, impartial openness libraries usually promote. The result here
is, I think, the worst of both worlds. If libraries only gave books
out to people employed by big companies—if Boeing could take books out
of the Seattle Public, but not regular people—that might be *worse*
than not giving books out at all.
What has OCLC got out of Google? Some rarely used links. Probably a
little money. Neither have transformed libraries online. On the
contrary, they've just underscored Google's dominance, and put
libraries further behind.
Tim
Received on Mon Sep 14 2009 - 16:24:22 EDT