Judy Njoroge
Reaction Paper 3
THE INTERNET AND ITS IMPACT ON FINDING INFORMATION: A IS
FOR AMAZON, G IS FOR GOOGLE
Chapter 9 of Neil Schuman Library Technology Companion: A basic guide by
John J. Burke.
Introduction
This chapter discusses the role of the internet as an avenue for finding and
sharing information; and its impact libraries. The internet is a global computer
network that was originally developed for military research use in 1969 and had
become a public utility by early 1990s. It continues to be available to a growing
number of users but is still unavailable to the poor in society whose only way of
access is through public institutions such as libraries. Libraries therefore play an
important role of providing access to the internet for individuals and the libraries
use it themselves to gather and provide information.
Summary
The internet allows people to: Communicate through email, chat, Instant
messaging (IM), Usenet newsgroups, web bulletin boards, blogs, and wikis; locate
information such as text documents, images, audio and video clips, interactive
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tutorials, games; and Share files by sending word documents or image files or
placing software on websites for users to download.
Libraries use the Internet to: (1) market themselves and provide services;
(2) communicate among library staff and with patrons e.g. through email, IM and
Chat; (3) search, identify and retrieve information; (4) provide access to
resources; and (5) research service methods and product information.
Some internet issues that libraries have to deal with include: patron
overdependence on the internet as a source of information ignoring the libraries;
patrons use the internet while at the libraries e.g. accessing pornography or
playing games while other patrons are waiting to use the computers; and the issue
of installation of filtering software (which ALA opposes) to restrict access to
offensive sites especially for children.
Libraries could learn a lot from sites that build repeat business such as
Amazon and Google. Some lessons from Amazon include: display of selected
pages from many books inside its catalog; full text that can be searched along
with citation information for all other items from the search blank on every
Amazon page; reviews of items that customers can read and write to assist in
choosing books or expressing opinions; and suggestion of additional items related
to the item in question. Google’s simple single-lined blank is an example of a
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simple design that requires no decision on the part of user other than typing the
search terms and getting results; the result screen is straightforward listing sites
ranked by relevance. Folksonomies and social bookmarking tools allow users to:
collect and share lists of items; see what others have linked to, gauge the
popularity and follow a trail of related items, build communities around common
interests, and classify resources using terms they are familiar with.
Discussion/analysis
I liked the way Burke (2009) defines the internet as “a reflection and an
extension of the rest of the world and as such is valuable to libraries and
individuals seeking information about that world” (pp.140-141). The internet
therefore becomes a useful avenue for libraries understand user needs and to
market themselves as one of the venues where these needs can be met.
I found Burke’s treatment of file sharing rather simplistic. He mentions
sending word documents or image files back and forth and software companies
placing demo versions of their website and allowing people to download them but
leaves out the use of FTP or File Transfer Protocols to exchange files between
computer accounts, transfer files between an account and a desktop computer, or
access online software archives.
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I liked the way Burke cautions that “library staff cannot fall into the trap
of beating down the internet in order to raise ourselves up” (p.146). There may be
a lot of questionable information on the internet but it is also true that there is a
whole lot of valuable information. Librarians therefore need to train users on how
to locate credible and authoritative information and the kind of research needs that
such information can meet. Librarians should also locate resources that are
relevant to the users and provide links to them on library websites so that the
users can get to them more easily.
Burke’s statement that library catalogs and websites do not do the things
that Amazon, Google, folksonomies and social bookmarking do is outdated since
currently some library websites and catalogs allow users to write reviews (e.g.
WorldCat) ; create tags; and search library books, journals, databases and the
internet all from one search blank (e.g. the VuFind catalogs that allow
metasearching). However many library catalogs and websites are still complicated
to search and do not offer any interactions with the users.
Burke also fails to mention some aspects of the internet that the libraries
should be ware of in their efforts to fit in or look like popular sites. For example
folkosonomies lack standardization which is what makes the organization of
library resources unique. Tags may over time come to represent a dominant view,
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discouraging usage of less popular concepts (and terminology) which become
disproportionately overwhelmed by the majority (Hayman, 2007). However
libraries are required to represent both popular and unpopular views in their
collections and in information that they make available on their websites.
Burke also fails to acknowledge that the Internet giants like Google and
Amazon are profit based businesses and therefore have the resources to invest in
staff and technology that have made their websites superior while most libraries
are non profit and are already struggling with diminishing budgets which makes it
hard for them to keep up in the ever changing technological arena.
Conclusion
Despite predictions that the internet will eventually replace libraries, many
have continued to thrive by embracing change and providing innovative products
and services that have continued to attract library users. The internet is
complementing existing library services and resources by: allowing access to both
free and licensed resources; allowing access both in the library and remotely; and
giving users an opportunity to interact with and contribute to library resources e.g.
through tags and reviews. However, for libraries to be able to compete with other
businesses on the internet, they have to invest some more on technology and staff;
keep seeking feedback from users on how they are doing and what they would
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like to see the library provide; and monitor their website usage to understand how
users interact with the resources they have made available online by using
resources such as Google Analytics.
References
Burke, J. J. (2009). Neal Schuman Library Technology Companion: A basic guide
for library staff (3rd ed.).
New York, NY: Neil –Schuman.
Hayman, S. (2007). Folksonomies and tagging: new developments in social
bookmarking. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/
summary?doi=10.1.1.138.8884
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