Gary Price Guru Interview

Gary Price interviewed in Library Link. He’s been asked so much about Google and librarians, he’s got a good answer handy.

LL: How can librarians stay ahead of the perception that everything people need is two clicks away on Google?

GP: Google and other web engines are fine for certain types of searching. However, it’s not the best choice in some situations. The challenge for us is not only telling people about what Google and other web engines can offer but also showing them what’s not available. Likewise, we can demonstrate how to be a better web search engine searcher. This is valuable info for many people. Why? With the help and knowledge of a good information professional we can help to save the time of our users. This is a commodity everybody wants to have more of.

barry the book, library repo man

While I think it’s going overboard to sic collection agencies on people for overdue fines, having this man show up on your doorstep just to pick up the books you haven’t returned might not be all bad.

Avid reader Barry, who works 18 hours a week and holds his own library card, applied for the position of library stock recovery officer with Bury council when he was made redundant from a Manchester-based debt collection agency in 1999. He now collects up to 40 books a day for Bury’s seven public libraries on his rounds in his car. [thanks jen]