Getting the right information at the right time in
the right format. Yes - certainly.
And it is a well known fact that the best searches
are done when a librarian and a researcher do a search together.
It is a combination of the two professionals'
respective knowledge and experience getting combined to bring out the
best.
It is much better acknowledging this than bringing
up a comparison of expertises.
I have yet another analogy to compare. Before the
era of specialization, it was the family doctor who advised patients not only
about treatment, but also about diets and exercises. How come the expertise of
dieticians and physiotherapists is acknowledged whereas the expertise of
librarians is still questioned?
And - I also believe that a customer needs to learn
to decide when a google is enough and when he/she needs to sit with a librarian
and go through more databases.
My opinion is that if it is an issue of research or
evidence based patient care, it is inadequate to just rely on a google search.
Google does a great job in a lot of cases. But it does not do a lot, because it
is not meant to do those. Rita Vine's article (Rebecca Graves' pointer)
was really good. She illustrates what Google does not do - which is coverage of
so many peer reviewed journal articles - which are the basis for evidence based
reviews.
Did we give up studying a difficult topic, because
it was clunky and time-consuming while taking our College degree exams? If we
did, we would have paid a price - losing grades. It is important to spend some
time learning / doing a thorough search if the objective is important - or else
take help of professionals who are quick at doing a good search.
OH and in fact there are times when I found
something on Google - and my clients / users have not - and then they
have asked me "How did you find it - I tried and could not?".
And my answer is "It is not Google that is the
problem, it is the Googler" (quote borrowed from a member of another mailing
list)
My conclusion is each has its own place - Google
and Medline (along with other databases)
And it is best to know when and in what context one
should learn to use the right resource and how to use it best.
Vasumathi Sriganesh
Director, QMed Services Pvt.
Ltd.
A-3, Shubham Centre, Cardinal Gracious Road
Chakala, Andheri East,
Mumbai 400099, India
Ph: 91-22-28229223 Fax:
91-22-28224358
Email: [log in to unmask], Web:
www.qmedin.com