Proper Google Usage

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Google is the smart librarian's secret tool!

This post, "Conjugating the Verb to Google," from one of my favorite book-loving blogs, Bibliophile Bullpen, reminded me of this because it is an excellent example of how Google is best used.

Often I am asked to defend the work of librarians in the increasingly Google-able world. Many in the profession shun these advancements, but do not realize that our future is going to be defined by them.

This "tiny adventure in time travel" is exactly what Google and other search engines are for. The author rightly wonders how long a more traditional search would have taken him or her.

How long would it have taken? Too long to satisfy a mild interest, that is for sure.

Fun Blog of the Day: Awful Library Books

How have I not seen this blog before?

Awful Library Books - the name says it all!

I've worked exclusively in older, academic libraries and this is a common problem. I've seen books that should have been weeded in the 1970s, let alone in the 2000s.

Luckily most of those places have been eager and willing to weed out the stacks; however, I remember working for one librarian who was intent on keeping some of the most racist, sexist, and un-literary material in the collection - simply for "reference points."

Granted, I am anti-censorship of every type and if your library's focus is on counterpoint materials and you have the time and resources to keep this material available, that is a different story. However, when the institution is an academic, research library that prides itself on being up-do-date and valid, you have to actively weed materials that only cheepen your collection.

Get these things out of our libraries! Now! Because women can be doctors too!

(Image from Awful Library Books Blog)