This debate sparked by the New Scientist item is undoubtedly useful but
I would hope that some of the comments are sent as letters to the New
Scientist as well as this list. Many of its readers may not even know
what an OPAC is and this could be an opportunity to let them know that
some of the most important resources on the Net are bibliographic
databases maintained by librarians.
Bill Forster
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Bill Forster, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, HATFIELD,
Hertfordshire AL10 9AD, UK.
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Tel: +44 1707-284681 Fax: +44 1707-284666 E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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On Tue, 1 Jul 1997, John Mackenzie Owen wrote:
> > Date: Tue, 01 Jul 1997 09:13:49 +0100
> > To: John Lindsay <[log in to unmask]>
> > From: Simon Tanner <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Re: Lost in cyberspace : URL
> > Cc: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
> > Reply-to: Simon Tanner <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > At 15:25 30/06/97 +0100, John Lindsay wrote:
> > >>
> > >> For anyone interested the article is available at :
> > >>
> > >> http://www.newscientist.com/keysites/networld/lost.html
> > >> Colin Goodwin SLA (Social Sciences Team)
> > <SNIP>
> >
> > The author of the NS article does seem to have a strange view of the
> > Library world. In this article he comments that Web spiders have problems
> > picking information out of the depths of Web sites. He then comments (I
> >
>
> Simon Tanner is of course right in saying that it does not make
> sense to include all items from opacs in search engines. However,
> David Brake (the other of the NS article) does indicate a problem
> that libraries should be aware of.
>
> Internet users regard search engines as the predominant (perhaps
> only) way to find information over the network. A person using a
> search engine to find information on a given subject will only find
> web pages on that subject, not other search mechanisms (such as
> opacs) which could be used to find additional information. Web-based
> search engines therefore tend to hide the very existence of opacs.
>
> In practice this means that search engines limit the
> information world to what is available (and indexed) on the Web,
> simply because users do not look any farther ('if you cannot find it
> with AltaVista, it does not exist). Libraries should understand this
> problem, as should publishers such as Elsevier and Springer who set
> up bibliographic databases as entry points to their digital archives.
> The more general in subject scope an opac or database is, the more
> easily it will escape the attention of the search engine user.
>
> The thing to do is to advertise opacs and bibliographic databases on
> the net as alternative search engines. This could be enhanced by
> setting up Z39.50 gateways, possibly by subject domain, allowing the
> user to choose the range of databases used to resolve the search
> request. The ultimate search service would combine Z39.50 gateways
> and (meta) search engines, allowing the user to find both web pages
> and bibliographic references (possibly also containing links to
> networked documents).
>
> An additional benefit or presenting opacs as 'search engines' rather
> than as 'catalogues' is that they might more easily attract
> advertisers and generate some income...
>
>
> John Mackenzie Owen
> ([log in to unmask])
>
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