-----Original Message-----
From: Next generation catalogs for libraries [mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of James Weinheimer
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 5:12 AM
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] Problems With Selection in Today's Information World
On Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:59:10 -0500, Mitchell, Michael
<Michael.Mitchell_at_BRAZOSPORT.EDU> wrote:
>We use "Choice" and similar publications for suggestions of quality Web
sites to include in our catalog. I have no trouble with the limited number
of resulting catalog entries since our catalog is not a Web search engine
and I don't think our students expect it to be. I've added 5-600 Web sites
in the past year or so. These sites are good resources that happen to be on
the Web (and free).
But what do students expect to find in the catalog? The local books plus a
small number of websites, and they still must use Google anyway? I am not
finding any fault with this--it is happening in every library, including my
own--but it results in making unclear the difference between the "Web search
engine" and the library catalog. For example, there are wonderful tools such
as Intute http://www.intute.ac.uk/ and Infomine http://infomine.ucr.edu/,
and they should not be ignored, plus there are lots of specialist sites. But
how do you use these sites?
<snip>
James Weinheimer
I guess I see adding Web sites to our OPAC as an option or starting point for our students. Rather than the 2.1 million hits I just got in Google for "Biology - Computer network resources" (with Intute nowhere in sight), I get 1 hit in our OPAC under that subject heading and that is for the Intute Biology site. No, I don't expect anyone to search under Biology - Computer network resources but I do expect our Public Services librarians to teach our students enough about subject browsing to make this a fairly easy find. And it is easier to find than trying to hit on a student social tag of "Sick bio page w/lizard picture."
I think the utility of the catalog decreases exponentially as the quality and quantity of cataloging courses diminishes. When we have non-catalogers teaching fewer and fewer cataloging courses it is no wonder fewer people are skilled in the tools of librarianship. It all flows downhill.
Mike Mitchell
“Protest is when I say I don't like this. Resistance is when I put an end to what I don't like. Protest is when I say I refuse to go along with this anymore. Resistance is when I make sure everybody else stops going along too.”- Ulrike Meinhof
Received on Wed Jun 30 2010 - 09:18:52 EDT