As an LIS student, I rely on professional library organizations for information for papers and online discussions. So, I was quite annoyed to find, for the 2nd time this month, a library organization has taken formerly free information on their website and moved it to a (paid) members-only section.
Hello? I thought:
library = free = access to information
Right?
I mean, I'm willing to pay for a hard copy. I realize these documents take money and effort (albiet from VOLUNTEERS) to produce. But, get with the 21st century already and throw up a free pdf on your site. Actually, in these cases, KEEP the free pdf that you ALREADY HAD (for FREE) on your site for months (or YEARS). Why move it to a member-restricted section of your site NOW? (i.e., A few weeks before the end of MY semester?!)
ALA, NJASL? You know what documents I'm referring to. I'll be waiting for your reply while I find a friend to email me a copy she wisely downloaded before you went all Amazon on me.
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label information. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sunday, February 10, 2008
mission vs ambition
What do you do when your lofty, altruistic mission conflicts with your naked ambition? Well, if you're Google, apparently, you cave.
"Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
Sounds great, except someone forgot to tell the folks at Google that China happens to be part of our universe.
Where librarians fight for intellectual freedom and access to information, Google fights for its right to earn money in a restrictive environment. In an online article in The Register, a San Francisco attorney states, "This a simple matter of Google adhering to the Chinese dictate...China is a sovereign nation, and they can set their own laws. You can't force a company to go up against a country." But the company can choose whether or not to do business there.
In the same article, Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker is quoted as saying, "By being in China, we help people access more information, and when we do restrict information, we make clear that we've done so." The problem is when you start making these kinds of rationalizations, where does the line drawing end?
[Article found at Library Link of the Day]
"Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
Sounds great, except someone forgot to tell the folks at Google that China happens to be part of our universe.
Where librarians fight for intellectual freedom and access to information, Google fights for its right to earn money in a restrictive environment. In an online article in The Register, a San Francisco attorney states, "This a simple matter of Google adhering to the Chinese dictate...China is a sovereign nation, and they can set their own laws. You can't force a company to go up against a country." But the company can choose whether or not to do business there.
In the same article, Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker is quoted as saying, "By being in China, we help people access more information, and when we do restrict information, we make clear that we've done so." The problem is when you start making these kinds of rationalizations, where does the line drawing end?
[Article found at Library Link of the Day]
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