As a teaser to increase "circulation" at a regional gentleman's club south of the border this sign is posted as an advertisement for the establishment - The Library, Las Vegas Nevada
Hmmm...
I should have reconsidered my doctorate.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
As any librarian will tell you -- the statement "Why is it that you can find it - I looked on Google" will make the fine hairs on the back of their neck tingle. Increasingly, web searches are becoming more and more frequently relied upon as a means for preliminary "research." However, the sanctity and security of these "searches" is becoming more frequently challenged and scrutinized.
An article published by Briony Smith, entitled "The Public Life of Google's Private Data" (ITBusiness.ca) notes that IM professionals should become increasingly aware of Google's lax privacy policies as information squirreled away in their massive data farms may have the potential to be given to its subsidiary or affiliate enterprises; and/or sobpeaned at any time by U.S. government officials via the Patriot Act.
The article goes on to suggest that aggregated information could be a way that Google could get around their stated policy of not releasing information to outside parties—this information could be sold to competing businesses, allowing them, for instance, to see what their competitors have been searching for in Google.
As such, IM professionals should be encouraging their research colleagues and library patrons to gaze upon the navigation of the information superhighway via search engines such as Google with a greater degree of scepticism. Significantly, the data can have a significant impact not only on the privity of one's personal data but on the information seeking behaviour of individuals employed in private enterprises as well -- research regarding sensitive topics of interest, the navigation of corporate intranet sites powered by Google, competitive intelligence work, etc.
In my neandering around the internet I came across a cute little blog entitled "Library Career Romances" that provides a bouquet of commentary for print publications narrating the evolution of popular culture's romantic notions of librarianship.
I couldn't help but smile and get the "warm and fuzzies" when reading this excerpt from Jan Marlowe, Hospital Librarian (1960):
That was one of the delightful things about her job. It brought her in touch with so many people, all [...] of whom made her not only feel welcome but that she was doing something really worthwhile. She gave a little sigh of pleasure as she unlocked the library door. She loved working here and she loved the work itself. [p.8]
After a long hiatus ... I am back to blog to my heart's content. For better or for worse :)
CONVERGENCE... AND LIBRARIES
Customarily convergence is identified as a mathamatical term or that of the telecom industry. As a profession rooted deeply in the technologies offered by the ICT industry and scientific-oriented analysis... why not appeal to this notion?
Does it fit? Does the idea of service convergence towards a single organizational knowledge nexus work in small corporate libraries? What are your thoughts?
Here is a reading to help the creative juices flow:
http://www.smr-knowledge.com/articles/KS%20Organ%20Know%20Nexus%2002-28-03.pdf
An Article published today in the Financial Post, entitled "Demand High for Information Management - Key to Big Business," (David George-Cosh) articulates what librarians and information scientists have known for years:
--> Profits and the preservation and dissemination of intellectual capital are strategically aligned in a corporate environment. Information Management (IM) is the basis for business intelligence and the foundation for making efficient and accurate business decisions.
As my former graduate school classmate (Senior Research Analyst, Info-Tech Research Group and PhD Canadiate, Library and Info Science - UWO) George Goodall states in the article - "Control the information, control the world."
