The 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan suggests that, paradoxically, a worthy goal of the library might be "invisibility" -- in the sense that the service is ubiquitous and fully integrated into the infosphere. "After all, technology and services are most welcome in our lives when we do not have to devote much thought to them. We press a switch and light comes or goes. Expecting the information consumer to pay attention to the differences between William Shakespeare the author and William Shakespeare the subject as search terms is akin to expecting Joe Householder to know if the red wire or the black wire should be grounded before he plugs the lamp in -- and expect Joe to go to RedWire.com to figure out what happens if he's wrong. Thankfully, clever people have hidden all this technology inside a box and millions are saved from a shocking experience."
posted by Marcus Zillman |
8:14 AM
