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OCLC’s Environmental Scan

http://www.oclc.org/membership/escan/introduction/default.htm

“The scan provides a high-level view of the information landscape, intended both to inform and stimulate discussion about future strategic directions. ”

Strategery: good stuff. But the real reason to “read” this report is that the Flash animations and search functions make it fun to play with. I can hear the folks at OCLC now: “but this report is not a TOY!” Hey, sure it is, and a good one! Very nice use of Flash on the main page, and it could double as a geography test. Texas, or India? You decide!

The searchable report doubles as an ego-surfing opportunity for the librariati (try “schneider,” “levine,” “tennant,” or “crawford”). I was interviewed for this report, and perhaps my highly erudite observances about the state of the state of portals influenced it somewhere, somehow, but to my great surprise and indeed pleasure, it is my blog that gets quoted, not my for-sure real-offishul day job. Search the report for “free range,” and you will find me opining about Amazon’s Search Inside the Book.

Oh, how it pleaseth me to see FRL quoted very seriously by an organization with the heft of OCLC, given that once upon a time, when FRL was brand-new, a Very Important Librarian sniped behind my back that “Free Range Librarian” was “stupid.” (Soon after that, wrath descended upon my head, and lo, I was sorely punished. What is it about OCLC that inspires this faux-Biblical turn of speech?)

In any event, what a great way to start a Friday. Cluck, cluck!

Posted on this day, other years:

This was written by K.G. Schneider. Posted on Friday, February 6, 2004, at 9:30 am. Filed under This and That. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.