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Why didn’t libraries invent this

Zimbio has launched. It’s a Like Squidoo lookalike but not quite a clone. When an idea starts to get copied, you know it’s gaining traction. It’s part of this amazing trend to see all those standalone features and functions combine into the service of some content and user-centric product or service.
These lenses or guides focus on a specific domain. Zimbio calls itself a network of public portals. “Information guides to help members quickly get down the learning curve on any topic.” “Squidoo is home to tens of thousands of everyday enthusiasts. Spread your ideas, make yourself known, meet new traffic. (You could even earn a royalty). What’s your topic?” They claim that if you build it they will learn.
Remember pathfinders? They were those sheets of paper that gave tips on navigating certain popular topics in libraries. I still see racks of them in libraries. I also see webliographies on some library portals and websites. Hmmmm. Why didn’t we grow past this as quickly as Zimbio and Squidoo have? They have harnessed the energy of thousands of users, some of them experts.
Of course we did – SirsiDynix Rooms offers an even more sophisticated environment to create these content and context management views or portals. Rooms links to beyond the web into OPACs, licensed resources and the whole gamut of context tools.
Pathfinders 1.0
Rooms and Squidoo 2.0
Users finding success – priceless
Stephen

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Posted on: May 6, 2006, 9:34 am Category: Uncategorized

By: stephen

rev="post-270" 2 comments

2 Responses

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  1. John Heintz said
    on May 7, 2006 12:10 pm

    Hi Stephen. Love your blog, and how it challenges me to rethink my assumptions on things. Looking forward to seeing you speak in Minnesota next week.
    I think you’ve missed the boat on this post. Is it really necessary to sneer at the subject guides that libraries produce? You’d be hard pressed to find an academic or public library that doesn’t.
    Are they perfect? No. Should they be made more dynamic, with things like rss feeds, a space for user comments or contributions, etc.? Absolutely.
    Should librarian-designed subject guides/webliographies be totally abandoned in favor of only having user-designed sites that “have harnessed the energy of thousands of users, some of them experts.”? I have to say no!(forgive me if I’ve mis-interpreted what you wrote, but that’s how I’m reading it).
    Do me a favor. Check out Zimbio’s Business & Finance section http://www.zimbio.com/category/3/, pick a category, and tell me that someone looking for basic information, websites, and sources isn’t better served by a library web subject guide on the same topic.
    Overwhelming people with blog posts (like Zimbio’s portals do) generally isn’t helpful; presenting blog info as one option might be, but not at the expense relevant information. Example: Zimbio’s IRS & Taxes portal http://www.zimbio.com/portal/Irs+And+Taxes, doesn’t link to the official IRS or state tax websites, but does link to commercial sites IRS.com and IRS.gov–is the user really better served?

  2. Stephen said
    on May 7, 2006 9:17 pm

    Sorry, I certainly didn’t mean to be thought to be snearing! I save that for politics.
    I guess my point was that libraries could use tools like Squidoo and Zimbio and do them better than the crowds. With better tools out there we shouldn’t think that Pathfinders are good enough. I’ve seen paper copies of website pathfinders and they’re fine. At least the electronic presence can be discovered outside of the display rack.
    There are tons of examples of missed opportunities on the web in the past 15 years and this is just constructive criticism and suggestions – something that’s sometimes in somewhat short supply in our field.
    SA