But how good is your average reference librarian anyway? I can remember a
Consumer's Association report from a few years back which showed that they
often gave incomplete or inaccurate information!
Mike Roddham
-----Original Message-----
From: Wentz, Reinhard [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 01 May 2002 08:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Google Researcher Replacing Librarians?
Dear All,
Karen Albert on Medlib-L today mentions an article in 'Information Today' on
Google's new service designed to invite
any question which will then be answered by one of a team of researchers at
Google:
http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb020422-3.htm
The beta version of this service and a few sample questions can be seen at
https://answers.google.com/answers/main
The Google Answers Researchers Training Manual, with more details, Do's and
Dont's, more sample questions with answers,
a style manual etc. can be seen at
https://answers.google.com/answers/researchertraining.html
An archive of all questions and answers is planned.
All very interesting (not so new in the area of 'health on the web': there
are enough sites where a patient can leave his/her
symptoms and then get a diagnosis and medical advice from a doctor), but as
a general service?
A chance for a spot of moonlighting (income passed on to our respective
employing institutions? Check some of the answers and
then deride (or learn) from them? Feel threatened by it (as a reference
librarian)? Join other reference librarians and set up a competing
service?
Best wishes,
Reinhard
Reinhard Wentz,
IC LIS, London
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