Open Call to Librarians and Information Professionals: Help Us Guide Web Searchers to Credible Web Sites

Semantic search engine hakia today announced an open call to librarians and information professionals to participate in a new program to unlock credible and free Web resources to Web searchers.

Currently, hakia is generating credibility-stamped results for health and medical searches to guide users towards credible Web content. These results come from credible Web sites vetted by the Medical Library Association. Now, hakia is aiming to further its coverage to all topics, with the participation of librarians and information professionals.

"The campaign that hakia is starting is a great way to leverage the never-ending knowledge and information analysis skills of the information professional in building a Web database full of the web resources that are most useful, and most importantly, have the most credibility," said Gary Price, Editor, ResourceShelf.com. "This is a new chapter for library collection development. I hope this is only the beginning."

Read the story on Marketwatch

Comments

[Karlen Chase]

Not new idea. See Internet Public Library: http://www.ipl.org

[Cara Schatz]

Not a new idea- but certainly a GREAT one... thanks for commenting here!

[Ann Coppin]

Librarians' Internet Index has done this for many years.

[Cara Schatz]

For those that are commenting on the fact that this idea is not a new one... Perhaps you can shed some light, or share your opinions, on how successful these efforts are?

As a regular, every day Web searcher- I am not aware of these resources. And I would suspect that most of the regular Web searchers out there don't know about them either.

Is there is a reason that most folks (I mean regular civilians, not librarians) are unaware of the already existing resources to authenticate, or put a librarian "stamp of approval" on information found on the Internet?

What do these two mentioned programs do well? What do they do poorly that might be improved on? I think it is great that things like this exist, but if nobody knows that they are there... then maybe they could be doing something different in order to ensure that people like ME (a civilian) know how to find and use such a resource.

CS

[Poor Richard]

I love libraries! They are one of the greatest benefits this country offers to its citizens. I'm always amazed that people don't use the library more often, and regularly. You don't even have to always go there to use the resources!

But a big problem with libraries has always been that they don't market their existence, importance and benefits well enough. They're too sheepish. The two comments about IPL and LII illustrate my point. So this is not a new idea and has been done for years by others. OK, but if very few people know of, let alone use, these sites, have they lived up to their potential? How can those responsible for building these sites drive more users to their sites?

And I hope I'm wrong in my assumption that those who made the two comments above are cynical librarians. I know library budgets have been flat for ten or more years. When will librarians stop being shy about self-promotion and fight to get the funding they deserve? What libraries need are lobbyists, not just a small group of dedicated library users to march to their state capital once each year to fight the annual threat of budget cuts. Libraries need to be more aggressive.

[Cara Schatz]

Couldnt have said it better myself! Thanks, Poor Richard. Perhaps we are moving in a better direction lately? I am finding that good, relevant and fast information is becoming increasingly more visible as the KEY to success in today's economy.

At the same time, SLA is working to provide our members with tools and training that will give them the boost needed to stop being SO humble about how important they are to an organization's success.

One of the best ways to bust out of your shell and get jazzed again about libraries and the profession is to get more involoved with SLA's learning, networking and advocacy programs. From Click U courses to Leadership Opportunities- SLA is the place for you to build your skills and make a difference for the profession, while at the same time finding a new appreciation for the VALUE that info pros provide employers on a daily basis. You get out of SLA what you put in- take the first step and get involved with your local chapter, you wont be sorry!