Librarian Twitter Army

Ok,

I'm trying to generate a Librarian Twitter Army. This would be for information and reference professionals (and willing and qualified amateurs?) who are on twitter and would like to take the time to offer reference help via the tweety box. Unfortunately, I chose the name @LibTwitArmy without even thinking. Now twitter is acting up and it won't let me change it to @librarianarmy- which I intend to do as soon as allowed.

I'm asking people to send their questions to @librarianarmy or include #librariantwitterarmy in their tweeted queries.


The point would be to provide links and references to people in need. This could maybe be a resource for people involved in the Arab Spring or Green Revolution type movements that need info, or simply homework help and everything in between.

Basically, I envision it this way- the tweet would be sent to @librarianarmy or include the aforementioned hash tag, and the @librarianarmy would retweet it to all followers, who would then answer.

Why? BECAUSE, that's why. Also, because we need to show that librarians have a place on twitter more than just an echo chamber. Plus, maybe it will save some poor soul from using Yahoo Answers. Who's in?

Another Day, Another Problem Solved

Hey! Yeah, you! Yeah, you schools that are running
out of money, listen up. First, what have you been thinking? Well, whatever it is, it isn't working. Technology and dollars are not the answer. Give me your ear and I can solve your whole tangled mess, but I won't do it now. No, now I will solve one small part of it. Ready? Strap your helmets on, because you're mind might explode without extra external support!

Here we go... are you ready? Get rid of any and all school libraries that are within a walking distance to a public library branch. That's it. Problem solved. That budget is already looking better isn't it? Well, it's not writing it all off
the books. What you need to do is PAY THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 25% of what you are saving. That way they can support the extra use and maybe even a staff member too. Do your teachers need to take a class to the library to research an assignment? Walk them there.

Now, here's the hard part, get your teachers working with the public librarians. Let them know what projects will be done, what subjects there will be a need for. Schedule trips. Trust me, the librarians will be more than glad to help you. They're seeing these kids right after school anyway, so most of them won't be strangers. Also, public libraries will EAT THE NUMBERS UP! It's called synergy. Let's make it happen.

Paid searches (or how Google keeps us from curing cancer)?

Josh Hadro had a great blog post yesterday entitled "How Much Would You Pay to Search for the Royal Wedding Guest List?" This sparked what was going to be a little comment, but turned into a small rant. I'm not even sure if I believe myself 100%, or agree with myself 100% might be more accurate, but I do know that I definitely feel this way and it makes sense on the surface.

First, isn't paying for search exactly what libraries used to offer patrons- you know, back before the ubiquity of home internet? People were willing to pay for it then, but few, and they dropped it pretty quickly as soon as a free competitor was out there. As it is, people typically refuse to go get something that’s behind a pay-wall unless it’s the only option or they’re already going to subscribe anyway.
Why would search be any different? Unless Google (or some other company, to be fair) has some type of proprietary control over a subject and all related information, free searches will never disappear. Someone will always do it a little cheaper, with a few more ads, etc.

Second, did they quantify the tangential information gleaned during a physical book search- such as finding out a fact that was only slightly related at the time but added to the searchers' overall knowledge with a potential to use later? THIS, I believe, is the benefit of a less direct search.
It's the accidental discovery that we are losing- and it will hurt in the long run. These discoveries change the course of research. They change conclusions we draw. This is why library co-location vs. bookstore grouping makes more sense to me too, from a “for the good of man” kind of way. Do you get that with a targeted search? This is missing, especially if you’re really good at searching. The better search engines get at brining you back what you really want to see, the less there will be this cross pollination of information. I am sad about this.

Unfortunately, this is almost impossible to quantify. When you could it would have to be retrospective and anecdotal, so the data wouldn’t allow you to draw any quality conclusions anyway.