Now it's REALLY different. Check it out.
So, what will you do in this new space?
Will you do the same things?
Will you have to find another place to go?
Have you ever worked on the ground floor before? Do you think you will, now?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Ground Floor Reconfigure
I'm sure you've noticed something different about the Ground Floor--new cafe name, furniture rearranged, carrels moving out.
Now it's REALLY different. Check it out.
So, what will you do in this new space?
Will you do the same things?
Will you have to find another place to go?
Have you ever worked on the ground floor before? Do you think you will, now?
Now it's REALLY different. Check it out.
So, what will you do in this new space?
Will you do the same things?
Will you have to find another place to go?
Have you ever worked on the ground floor before? Do you think you will, now?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Google Instant and psychic searching
Well the latest news about Google is that it's trying to predict what you are searching for instantly. The results come up as you are still typing what you are looking for. The early verdict is "clever, not psychic." I wonder if it will turn into a kind of game--what is Google thinking I'm searching for?--very like when people allow their phones to complete the words they are typing, even (and especially) when it's the wrong words.
The impulse to know more than users do about what users are searching for can get us into trouble. I'm not saying that users of library resources always know what is possible, when conducting a search. But it is possible for information specialists to go too far in assuming they think they know what people are looking for--or how they should be looking for it. Information scientists are trained to organize information, and to retrieve it from information systems, but are not always working with systems that are intuitive to users. Thinking that information science provides the best way to organize information can get in the way of library users finding the information they need--or even, perceiving the library as a good place they can go for resources. If the organizing structures of the information resources are too challenging, people can give up.
I wonder about Google Instant. Will people respond well to Google presuming that it can know so much from so little initial data? Will Google build in the right kind of flexibility. so that people can find what they are actually looking for, not just what Google thinks they are looking for?
The impulse to know more than users do about what users are searching for can get us into trouble. I'm not saying that users of library resources always know what is possible, when conducting a search. But it is possible for information specialists to go too far in assuming they think they know what people are looking for--or how they should be looking for it. Information scientists are trained to organize information, and to retrieve it from information systems, but are not always working with systems that are intuitive to users. Thinking that information science provides the best way to organize information can get in the way of library users finding the information they need--or even, perceiving the library as a good place they can go for resources. If the organizing structures of the information resources are too challenging, people can give up.
I wonder about Google Instant. Will people respond well to Google presuming that it can know so much from so little initial data? Will Google build in the right kind of flexibility. so that people can find what they are actually looking for, not just what Google thinks they are looking for?
Friday, September 3, 2010
For the holiday weekend, some fun for bibliophiles
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| Click here to watch the video |
I am trying to figure out which child I can give this book to, but I think that the people in my life who would most love it are grown-ups who sometimes just want to sit down with a BOOK.
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