Defending the Library: Librarians, a Linguist, and Lady Gaga Join Forces

June 8th, 2010 Posted in Digitization, Electronic Publishing, Other News

Library angel Lady Gaga

Libraries have been hit hard by a double whammy of technology (i.e., the internet) and the recession (i.e., budget cutbacks). Technological advances that make information and media more easily accessible from home have are steadily eroding libraries’ visitor bases; and in a trying economic climate, this has left many libraries vulnerable to drastic budget slashes and even closure.

Many libraries have begun turning to digitization efforts as a means to cut down on staff and overhead. But this has many people asking: now that we have a vast universe of information instantly accessible from home (or in the car, in line at the supermarket, wherever), what’s the point of continuing to house print books and archives in a physical space?

We’ve assembled some answers to this question, direct from the lips of librarians (and one linguist):

BBC Blogs
“A Librarian Takes On Google Books. A librarian at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth discusses Google Books and the future role of librarians in the digital era.

Language Log
Google Books: A Metadata Train Wreck
UC Berkeley Linguist Geoff Nunberg explains why the ocean of data on Google is useless if you can’t find what you need.

The Bakersfield Californian
Why the Web Is No Substitute for the Library
Mark Y. Herring, Winthrop University librarian, explains why the internet is no substitute for your local library.
(Check out #4 for a great example of the importance of good data conversion when creating digital content. From the article: The great boon to libraries has been the digitization of journals. But “full-text” sites, while grand, aren’t always full. Articles on these sites are often missing, among other things, footnotes. Tables, graphs and formulas often do not show up in a readable fashion. For more information on how to digitize your content while avoiding these pitfalls, visit Data Conversion Laboratory, or contact DCL directly.)

Youtube (via Lucacept)
Librarians Do Gaga
Librarians and students at the University of Washington Information School drive home their message about the utility of databases with the help of a little Lady Gaga. Video below.