ResourceBlog Article: Librarians Do Slightly Better Than Google

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Friday, 26th September 2003

Librarians Do Slightly Better Than Google

Librarians and Libraries
Source: Associated Press
AP: "Librarians Do Slightly Better Than Google"
What a sad headline that we know to be incorrect. In its June issue D-Lib (and linked from ResourceShelf) ran an article about Google Answers (Google's fee-based answering service) as compared to results received with the assistance of a librarian. Results of that study have made it into the mainstream press. Unfortunately, the story focuses on the fact that according to the study, results from Google Answers were about as good as those from a librarians. My point in posting this story is not to argue about the quality of Google Answers service, of web search, or the quality of what was a small exploratory study. That's another matter. I'm posting it because the headline and story are more examples of how the public continues to be fed material that libraries and librarians offer services and have skills no better than what's available from Google or any other web engine. Yes, this AP story is brief as is the original study, but it continues to weaken the value of our profession as it's perceived by the public. What are we, as a profession, doing to change this?

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