Robert W. Weeks bob.weeks@cox.net, http://members.cox.net/bob.weeks
|
Characteristic |
Library |
Internet |
|
Structure |
Is professionally managed |
Can’t be managed |
|
|
Has well-developed cataloging mechanism |
No working cataloging mechanism |
|
Finding material |
Has a complete index of items it contains. |
There is no index that is even close to being complete. |
|
|
Usually has searchable abstracts only. |
Can provide full-text searches of material. |
|
|
Librarians will help you. |
No one will help you. |
|
Authenticity |
Professional staff makes selections. Most authors have credentials. |
Anyone can place material on the web. It seems like everybody does. |
|
Stability |
High. Items are removed when obsolete. |
Low. Things come and go, or urls change. |
|
|
Libraries archive our history. |
Doesn’t do this. |
|
|
Library is an institution. |
Internet is a medium. |
|
Accessibility for users |
High |
Low, but getting cheaper |
|
Accessibility for writers |
Low |
High |
|
Convenience of using |
Low |
High for those with access |
|
Cost of providing |
Need a building, must purchase books and materials |
Good web sites are expensive to maintain, and we’re starting to realize that someone has to pay for content. |
|
Updatability |
Low |
High |
|
Interactive |
No |
Yes |
|
Ownership and support |
Usually university or public |
Usually private |
|
Familiarity |
High |
Low, users often have trouble using or understanding. |
In short, today's breathless pace of change and the current fascination with the information economy are driven by advances in information technology and infrastructure, not by any fundamental shift in the nature or even the magnitude of the information itself. The fact is, the Web isn't all that impressive as an information resource. The static, publicly accessible HTML text on the Web is roughly equivalent in size to 1.5 million books. The UC Berkeley Library has 8 million volumes, and the average quality of the Berkeley library content is much, much higher! If 10 percent of the material on the Web is "useful," there are about 150,000 useful book-equivalents on it, which is about the size of a Borders superstore. But the actual figure for "useful" is probably more like 1 percent, which is 15,000 books, or half the size of an average mall bookstore.
From Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy, Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian