It's been...

too long!

Oh my I really didn't realize how busy I was going to be this semester. Taking 4 classes and working 3 jobs is more than overwhelming!!! Nonetheless, I did make the time to go to the Follet Lecture "Googlization of Libraries: Debunking the Internet Godzilla Myth" (The Shifted Librarian sums it up well here) held by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University. As busy as I may be making time for this lecture was truly worth it. Ed Valaskaus (the Follet Chair) spoke of the dire future that may be if we (librarians) don't learn and grow along with others in the information industry such as Google. He then moved on to paint a much prettier picture of how we (librarians) could be if we are to incorporate some of the information distribution methods that say Google has incorporated.

Simply, I agree! We (librarians) need to embrace the digital age within which we live--it's not going away. Our patrons want their information needs met "yesterday" and thus, easily searchable, digital collections need to be made available and accessible. Google has taken many hits--especially in the copyright debate--for libraries. Why not let them? They have the money and the power to do so, right? They'll fight our battles while creating highly efficient search engines for us (Google Scholar is slowly, but surely getting there) and we'll continue to provide our value-added service with a smile--oh the world could be perfect, couldn't it!?