Libraries and Google

Citation

Secker, J. (2007), "Libraries and Google", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 41 No. 2, pp. 180-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330710742944

I was rather excited to receive my review copy of this book with its eye‐catching front cover and it was with keen anticipation that I started to read it. “Learn to give your library patrons better service – using Google” is the claim made in the promotional literature that came with this book. However, despite the use of the Google logo, one thing this book is clear about is that it was not sponsored or endorsed by Google Inc. However, its presence on my desk or while reading it on a train certainly generated a lot more interest than typical library‐related books I review. Google and Libraries was also hugely timely as the London School of Economics and Political Science Library (where I work) was in the process of reviewing the use of Google Scholar and looking to ensure that subscription resources could be accessed via this route.

The first thing to note about this book is that it is really a collection of related, but stand‐alone articles. While the editors provide an introduction, as far as I could see there was little by way of editing beyond this. This is not meant as a criticism in any way as the chapters are well written and complementary, but it is telling that it was co‐published simultaneously in Internet Reference Services Quarterly Vol. 10 Nos 3/4 in 2005. It does also mean that there is some repetition at the start of many of the chapters, and they don't really cross refer as far as I could tell. It might also have been useful for the editors to provide some sort of conclusion to draw all the themes together. It is worth noting that although the journal publication came out in 2005 the book was not published until August 2006 and didn't land on my desk until late that year. In today's fast‐changing world, 18 months is not insignificant and reading it in early 2007 one does notice that the facts and statistics largely relate to the 2004‐2005 period. That said, the book is still highly relevant and raises issues that really are just becoming pertinent in many UK libraries.

Highlighting significant chapters in such a rich collection is difficult, and this book is simply littered with excellent quotes. The book considers Google initiatives such as Google Print (which has been subsequently renamed as Google Book Search) and Google Scholar and their impact on libraries and (often more significantly) on librarians. For example, Mark Sandler from the University of Michigan considers the Google digitisation programme from the USA perspective, while Ronald Milne from the Bodleian Library in Oxford provides a view from the UK. Sandler views Google as a “disruptive technology” (p. 21), catalysing change, but overall he concludes that it is “really less revolutionary than it is unsettling”. That said, he presents three options for the world's libraries in the face of the challenge from Google: to ignore it; to do nothing and assume Google will do all the work; or to develop strategies that complement and extend Google's work. It is this final option he favours when he calls for collaboration between all those with an “interest in the chain of scholarly communication”. Meanwhile, Milne in many ways defends the Bodleian's participation in the Google digitisation programme viewing it as a logical extension of the aims of its founder, Thomas Bodley, in 1602, to make collections available to all.

Numerous chapters in this book compare tools such as Google Scholar with more traditional library tools, which make fascinating reading. Callicott and Vaughn (p. 71) and Egger‐Sider and Devine (p. 89) are two examples. Google's strength for them lies in its simplicity, yet the heart of the problem is that “in many students minds today, information retrieval is simply synonymous with Google” (p. 92). Google has created the illusion that the web contains everything and this chapter delves into the ‘invisible web’ looking at what is hidden from Google and why. Meanwhile Phipps and Maloney (p. 103) regard Google as causing a paradigm shift in higher education which leads us to need to reframe the purpose of academic libraries. Librarians need to build on their capabilities and knowledge of information literacy to assist users. Adlington and Benda (p. 135) also evaluate Google Scholar, this time for reference use by “looking under the hood” and trying to understand something about how this tool actually works. Similarly, in “Running with the Devil” (p. 149), Donlan and Cooke look at the practicalities of accessing library licensed full‐text resources through Google Scholar.

Maurice York's chapter argues that Google Scholar is a tool for allowing users to rediscover the academic library. He calls Google an 800‐pound dragon and sees academic libraries falling into three camps in their attitudes towards this beast: either dismissing it; acting overly defensively; or embracing Google. His eloquently written chapter talks of monsters, castles and asks, on a “windswept plain of information” how will we ever call the scholars home again? Librarians fear students will abandon the library, they'll pay for content they don't need to, or they'll simply find low quality resources. His range of references is extensive, drawing on surveys and reports, including a number from the UK. Not meaning to single out one chapter, but if you are going to dip into this book, this chapter is inspiring. On page 131 he rallies us by arguing that if we truly want to bring our users home we must abandon the walls, go to them and become “field librarians”.

Other significant chapters include Thelwall's examination of the role of Google in literature searching, in particular for finding introductory material (p. 159) and Cathcart and Robert evaluate Scholar as a tool for information literacy (p. 167), to see how it meets the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy (IL) standards. They conclude it is ultimately quite limited, but they offer recommendations about how to turn Scholar into an IL ally, by highlighting its faults and gaps. Alan Dawson's chapter is probably one of the most technical, and looks at how publications can be optimised for Google users, so rather than complaining about the faults in Google, how simple tweaks to your website, can ensure that your site is thrown to the top of the list. Piper's chapter (p. 195) is a chilling look at privacy issues and Google, including the vast amount of personal information that it collects from its users and makes available. Finally Krasulski and Bell provide valuable resources and strategies for keeping up with the latest Google developments. The chapter includes a host of useful websites, blogs, RSS feeds and subscription resources to keep you up to date and one step ahead of your users.

The book is largely USA biased – and all but two of the chapters were authored by American librarians based in academic libraries. Yet in a sense there is much we can learn in the UK from these experiences so this is in no way a criticism. It would have undoubtedly been more difficult to find many UK librarians who could have written such a chapter over two years ago. However, this does mean some more recent developments, such as the Google Librarians Blog (http://librariancentral.blogspot.com/) or the launch of Windows Live Academic (http://academic.live.com) as a competitor to Google Scholar are sadly absent. That said there was still a lot of new and useful resources and the book has so far dated well.

Overall I hugely enjoyed reading this book and know I will go back to read and refer to many of the chapters. It struck a real chord with me, over the need for librarians to use Google to their advantage and how we can't continue to ignore the impact it has had, and continues to have, on the library world. I was struck by some of the analogies librarians use to describe Google, such as “monster”, “devil” and “Goliath” (in the face of the library as David). At $24.95 this book really is an essential read for anyone who cares about the future of libraries and how not just to survive but also to flourish in the digital world.