Bernie,
What appeared between the "..." in that quote from Jane Jacobs' earlier
post was the reason for her making the statements that she did. She put
forth some pretty convincing actual evidence (dealing with
pharmaceuticals) to support her view, which, generally speaking, if not
true all the time and in every circumstance, is at least true part of
the time in some circumstances.
"The web is full of free things that people value highly. I value my
daily use of of the NY Times online. Would I value it more if I had to
pay for it? No."
The question you need to ask is whether you would pay for the NY Times
online. I also consume vast quantities of free online content (isn't it
great?), much that I really do value and like. But how much of it would
I pay for if I had to? That would cause me to think more critically -
and have to make some tough decisions about which valuable stuff I
really felt I needed to buy.
Also, let me clarify that I was not saying we should be selling our data
for $ - just saying how immensely valuable it is.
Back to my point about how we need to be a little more bold about
touting the valuable stuff we have (in other words, how could we best
argue for our infrastructure?) First of all, we must more deeply
realize - or even begin to realize? - that we will not be able to
improve any technique or service ***unless we look carefully at exactly
what makes it work when it works just as much as what makes it fail when
it fails*** (see David Bade's stuff)
Thankfully, we - *and others to* - can do this with our stuff, because
it is open and transparent. With Google, its all an insider's game.
Again, it doesn't bother us now...
Regards,
Nathan Rinne
Media Cataloging Technician
Educational Service Center
11200 93rd Avenue North
Maple Grove MN. 55369
Email: rinnen_at_district279.org
Nathan Rinne
Media Cataloging Technician
Educational Service Center
11200 93rd Avenue North
Maple Grove MN. 55369
Email: rinnen_at_district279.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Next generation catalogs for libraries
[mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of B.G. Sloan
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:35 AM
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] $$$ Library data is the best $$$
Nathan Rinne cites Jane Jacobs' earlier post where she says:
"As for the rest of the non-bibliographic world, perhaps the data is
perceived as lacking in value BECAUSE it is largely free!...I really
think that it may be the availability NOT the inaccessibility of MARC
records that make some people ignore them or question their value!"
In other words: people don't value things they get for free. I don't
know that I buy into that adage anymore. It seems rather old school in
this day and age. The web is full of free things that people value
highly. I value my daily use of of the NY Times online. Would I value it
more if I had to pay for it? No. I pay $40 a year for a subscription to
Cornell University's Birds of North America Online, a resource I consult
often. Would I value it less if I got it for free? No.
Bernie Sloan
Received on Wed Sep 16 2009 - 11:52:19 EDT