Carol Tenopir’s swan song

After 28 years, 264 columns, 15 annual database marketplace surveys, and nearly half a million words Carol Tenopir is calling it quits on her Library Journal column Online Databases. Carol’s final column Swan Song & Issues Unresolved appears in the 12 October 2010 issue of the Library Journal.

The article also includes a Considered Perspective on the role of the end user and searching over the past 28 years:
In March 1983 (column #2), Carol Tenopir wrote, “I have no doubt that end user searching will someday replace searching by a trained intermediary.”

In December 1996, nearly halfway through her Online Databases run, she reconsidered: “Today I would have to say ‘coexist with,’ not ‘replace.’”

Now, after 28 years of contemplating the market and evaluating the impact of interfaces on the end user, Tenopir has reached a new, broader conclusion. She told LJ, “‘End user searching’ seems a quaint expression considering the state of online research today—finding answers and information online today is a part of everyday life, an expectation, something fundamental to the way most people operate at school and work. So, yes, ‘end users’ (aka real people) did take over searching for the most part and librarians play more of an educator or trouble-shooter role. But in some areas, intermediaries are still (or again) relevant—particularly in corporate or government agencies where search experts are an important part of research teams, competitive intelligence operations, patent searching, and so forth.”

Carol Tenopir’s session on Sharpening the value edge of academic libraries is scheduled for Sunday 28 November 4:30pm

Louise Schaper to speak at the Conference

Louise Schaper says sustainable management is critical and touches every aspect of the library. When asked about the importance of libraries and librarians as green leaders she says, “It’s just common sense. Don’t simply look at the bill you are about to pay. Make sure the money you spend on your institution makes sense in the long term. This is not religion; it is economics.”

In the Library by Design supplement to the 15 May 2010 issue of Library Journal, Louise outlines her  10 steps to sustainable library operations to provide a match between the building and maintaining of a green library and the operations and practices within that library.

Key note speakers

It took people a while to click that the keynote speakers announced last week were in fact that speakers for the 1910 Conference. I thought topics like the Dewey classification scheme, infectious diseases and fumigating books, and travelling libraries would have been a dead give away. Perhaps we haven’t moved as far as we think in 100 years? Now the speakers for the 1911 conference are …… just joking. But looking to the future I predict that Stephen Abram will be making an appearance at the 2010 Centennial Conference. Check out his blog.