Elizabeth Hallmark is a master's student in the School of Information at The University of Texas at Austin. She is the Editor for Marketing Information at the Texas Department of Agriculture, where she helps oversee the written content for more than 12 statewide marketing campaigns. In 2001, the transitive verb "to google" entered the American lexicon, meaning "to search for information on the Web" (McFedries, 2001). Perhaps no other indicator better illustrates the impact of the Google search engine on the information landscape than this simple neologism, which cements the common perception that searching online is synonymous to searching on Google. A quick look at the numbers helps support this idea: by recent estimates, Google handles up to 200 million queries a day (Achenbach, 2004) and represents about 75 percent of all Internet searches (Graham, 2003). With so much information available online, Google has become the primary starting point for information seekers, leaving other valid and vital resources fighting for significance and relevance. This is particularly true for libraries. In the first five years after Internet search engines became popular, library circulation dropped 20 percent at major universities (Achenbach, 2004). With Google's popularity soaring, one of the best approaches for libraries may be "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," which is the premise of the Open WorldCat pilot launched by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), a nonprofit member-based computer library service and research organization. The full potential of this effort can be explored by studying the strengths and challenges that both Google and WorldCat offer, the relationship between the two, the goals of the Open WorldCat pilot, and the initial impact of usage data generated by the pilot project. Currently, Google offers access to an index of more than 4 billion URLs, making it the largest search engine on the Web. Since its creation in 1998 by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to today, the search engine has quickly risen to dominance. Quoted in USA Today, Danny Sullivan, editor of the Search Engine Watch online newsletter, said "It's gotten to the point where people think if it's not in Google, it doesn't exist" (Graham, 2003). As Katherine Pennavaria notes in Kentucky Libraries, "Today, a student can find countless sources, text included, without moving from his seat in the computer lab. And the students know it can happen, so that's why they usually start with a Google search" (2003). Google's software programs "crawl" the Internet, indexing millions of pages including non-HTML files such as PDF, Microsoft Office and Corel documents. One of the primary concepts driving Google's success is its "page rank" system to return relevant search results. In its simplest form, PageRank returns results are based on popularity, with pages listed in relevance by the number of links to them from other sites. The strength of this approach lies in its ability to sift through results by taking advantage of patterns on the Web and prioritizing sites that reflect user preferences (Achenbach, 2004). A drawback to this approach, however, is that it merely reflects general preferences and therefore represents some bias. For instance, Webloggers can create a large number of pages and generate numerous links (Graham, 2003) in a process popularly referred to as "Google bombing." As a result, quality resources can be buried. The page rank system presents some challenges to the Open WorldCat project, particularly the challenge of ensuring that WorldCat records receive the appropriate "page one" visibility they deserve based on the quality of the record. OCLC's WorldCat has more than 56 million cataloged records, including records for items such as electronic books, MP3s, DVDs and Web sites. Catalog entries are created and maintained collectively by more then 9,000 instititutions that belong to the OCLC member cooperative. Through the efforts of these members, WorldCat is the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind. Recent figures from the OCLC Web site (www.oclc.org) include the following: Many librarians remain wary of the capability of Google and other search engines to completely meet users' needs. In a 2004 survey of 800 librarians by Elsevier's Research Office, more than two-thirds of the respondents shared a concern that their end users relied too much on Google (Carroll, 2004). An estimate cited in D-Lib Magazine states that Google handles more questions in a day and a half than all the libraries in the country provide in a year (Heidig, et al, 2003). Yet, questions remain about the quality and authenticity of information found through Google and other popular online search engines. "Starting a research paper with Google is like shopping for dinner at the dollar store," said Pennavaria, "sure they have some food, and it's cheap and easy to get, but is it the best choice?" None of these concerns appears to have slowed Google's rise to the top or the library's diminishing visability as one of the first choices for information searches. Quoted in a Washington Post article, Berkeley professor Peter Lyman offered the following assessment: "There's been a culture war between librarians and computer scientists. The war is over. Google won" (Achenbach, 2004). Librarians have valid reasons to dispute this claim, especially in light of the volumes of information available through the Invisible Web, which includes databases and resources unavailable to the majority of search engines. Given that the Invisible Web is noted as the largest growing segment of new information on the Web, this carries increased importance (Graham, 2003). As a service to its members, OCLC also wants to see library visits increase. This goal led to the development and launch of the Open WorldCat project, marking the first time OCLC has made WorldCat records available outside the traditional library environment. The purpose is to make libraries more visible to Web users and more accessible from popular and highly trafficked Web sites. To kick off the project in 2003, OCLC extracted a 2 million record subset from its WorldCat database with a focus on the most popular and widely available books. OCLC's litmus test included selecting records with a minimum of 100 libraries holding each item. The pilot was launched after a year of discussions between OCLC and leaders in the library and information community, out of which a consensus was formed that libraries needed more visibility on the Web, especially for nontraditional library users (Quint, 2003). Opening up the records to Google access was part of a larger Open WorldCat project to work with major Web search engines. When a Google search turns up a WorldCat record, the resulting find is prefaced by the words "Find in a Library." Clicking on the link leads a user to an interface that requests users' zip or postal code, state or province. From here, users can be directed to the nearest OCLC member library that holds the item. The interface also provides links to local OCLC member library sites, directions, and, in some cases, connections to the library's online public access catalog, or OPAC. The benefits to the library are obvious: increased visibility and traffic directed precisely in the library's direction. For Google, the partnership helps the online giant reach beyond the Web and provides a vetted source for valid records. At a luncheon presentation during the annual Amigos Member Conference in May 2004, OCLC President Jay Jordan spoke favorably of the pilot and mentioned that he would like to see the effort even take a step forward in visibility by having a Find in a Library button or tab located on the front page of Google. To date, this idea has not been implemented, but it would indeed offer a high degree of awareness for libraries, including public, academic and school libraries. Concerns about the pilot project revolve around Google's page rank system, which may bury relevant WorldCat records, and the perception of OCLC's role as more of a vendor and less of a cooperative, raising questions about OCLC's true intentions as far as libraries' best interests are concerned (Kenney, 2004). The first issue will have to be resolved with Google's input. Addressing the second issue, Cathy De Rosa, OCLC's vice president for corporate marketing, said the following as quoted in a Library Journal article: "At the heart, OCLC wants to increase access to information. We are thinking on behalf of the library community and seeking opportunities for the library community" (Kenney, 2004). If the purpose of the Open WorldCat project is to benefit libraries, is it working? When OCLC launched the project, it stated that it would evaluate the success of the project in June 2004 to assess whether it would be worth pursuing further. The verdict: Open WorldCat is a success. According to the OCLC Web site, inbound links from Open WorldCat search results grew from 39,000 in February 2004 to more than 1 million in the first half of June 2004. Twenty state libraries have asked to join the pilot and 100 percent of the 2 million WorldCat records made available have been harvested and formatted by Google (and Yahoo, another recent partner). Less than 2 percent of the libraries automatically included in the pilot project have chosen to withdraw. For their part, libraries must continue to step into the limelight and use the Web to their advantage. Once users link into a library's services via the Open WorldCat interface, the responsibility shifts. Librarians can and should take it from there. In a recent article, Gary Price states, "The library world hasn't done enough to keep up with the Google juggernaut in defining our role in the Web age. We must do better and we must start now" (Price, 2003). Achenbach, J (2004), "Search for Tomorrow", Washington Post, 15 Feb., p. D01. Carroll, S. (2004), "Googled Science", Library Connect, Vol. 2 No. 2, June, p. 5. Devine, J., Egger-Sider, F. (2003), "Beyond Google: The Invisible Web in the Academic Library", The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 30 No. 4, July, p. 265-9. Graham, J. (2003), "The search engine that could", USA Today, 25 Aug., available at: http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-08-25-google_x.htm Heidig, L., Kenney, A., Martinez, I., McGovern, N. (2003), "Google Meets eBay", D-Lib Magazine, Vol. 9 No. 6, June, available at: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june03/kenney/06kenney.html Kenney, B. (2004), "OCLC to Library Community: Time to Think Differently", Library Journal, Vol. 129 No. 3, March, p. 16. McFedries, P. (2001), The Word Spy, available at: www.wordspy.com Pennavaria, K. (2003), "Down with Google! Better Source Selection for Students", Kentucky Libraries, Vol. 67 No. 2, p. 11-13. Price, G. (2003), "What Google Teaches Us that Has Nothing to Do with Searching", Searcher, Vol. 11 No. 10, November/December, p. 35-7, available at: http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdffull/04926/Z6UEY/HSN.pdf Quint, B. (2003), "OCLC Project Opens WorldCat Records to Google", Information Today, October, available at: http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb031027-2.shtml This work is dedicated to the Public Domain.
OCLC members can provide WorldCat access to their patrons by subscribing to FirstSearch, which functions as an online library catalog. According to OCLC, every second a library user searches WorldCat using FirstSearch. In comparison, Google answers more than 2,300 queries a second (Graham, 2003). Though WorldCat has evolved into a valuable and vetted source of information about literally millions of bibliographic records, it remains underutilized within the library context, especially compared with Google.
OCLC's Web site outlines other feedback from the effort:
Based on the success of the pilot, OCLC's next steps include extending the pilot to a permanent membership benefit, increasing access to WorldCat by partnering with more search engines, and conducting research with users to obtain feedback on the service.
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| Mind-Googling Potential: Teaming the Power of Google with the Resource |
Have you noticed those results in Google searches that say "Find in a Library"? Get the scoop on this joint effort between OCLC and Google.
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