Google Is Not the Net: Social Networks Are Surging and Present the Real Service Challenge--And Opportunity--For Libraries

Autor/in	Albanese, Andrew Richard
Titel	Google Is Not the Net: Social Networks Are Surging and Present the Real Service Challenge--And Opportunity--For Libraries
Quelle	In: Library Journal, 131 (2006) 15, S.32 (3 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0363-0277
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Social Networks; Information Technology; Libraries; Internet; Librarians; Online Searching; California; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Informationstechnologie; Library; Bibliothek; Librarian; Bibliothekar; Bibliothekarin; Online-Recherche; Kalifornien; USA
Abstract	This article observes that it's not hard to understand why Google creates such unease among librarians. The profession, however, can't afford to be myopic when it comes to Google. As inescapable as it is, Google is not the Internet. And as the web evolves, new opportunities and challenges loom larger for libraries than who's capturing the bulk of the search or email markets, or who's giving us driving directions. In just a decade, the evolution of the Internet has upset the balance in an information ecology that had served libraries for centuries. What will the next decade look like? Blogs and RSS feeds have changed the way we gather and look at news. Wikipedia, the living, free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is changing how we think about reference. Services offered by Amazon.com and NetFlix are winning the hearts, minds--and habits--of our users. If you think Google represents a big challenge, consider this: MySpace.com, Rupert Murdoch's popular social networking site, has surpassed Google in terms of traffic. In June 2006, it logged nearly 46 million unique users, most of them young, spending an average of two hours at a time on the site, according to Nielsen Net ratings. They maintain profiles including things like their favorite books and movies; they blog, host photos, videos, email, chat, and post "bulletins" on message boards--all free. All wrapped in slick advertising powered by, you guessed it, Google. So popular is MySpace, in fact, its search function ranks sixth among all commercial search engines. In addition to MySpace, libraries can learn and take advantage of other networking advances. However, at present, this is very hard. Aside from the technological challenges, most libraries, fearful of hackers and subpoenas, won't keep circulation records for more than a few days much less use that information to enable social networking services like NetFlix or Amazon's book recommendations, services users have increasingly come to enjoy--and expect. It is concluded that how librarians adapt over the next generation could be the difference between a vibrant future for libraries and a steady descent into insignificance. (ERIC).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10