Libraries all use specialized software and in some cases the company supplying the software also "owns" the database. This is done so that any attempt to switch to another vendor will be expensive and difficult.
Perhaps full text indexing such as is being attempted by Google will make for better searching in the future, but it will take a long time since most libraries have material that will never be included into Google or anyone else's similar effort.
There was a similar issue when card catalogs were eliminated. Some libraries still retain cards for older material because the cost of computerizing them was prohibitive. The rate at which material is consulted drops off rapidly. Things more than a few years old are hardly ever consulted except for classics and those doing scholarly research.
Even if full text indexing will become the norm in the future there still needs to be some breakthroughs on retrieval logic. Google and its competitors still use very elementary systems to determine relevance. It's not clear whether they keep their algorithms secret because of competitive fears or embarrassment.
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Date: 2007-11-14 08:24 pm (UTC)Perhaps full text indexing such as is being attempted by Google will make for better searching in the future, but it will take a long time since most libraries have material that will never be included into Google or anyone else's similar effort.
There was a similar issue when card catalogs were eliminated. Some libraries still retain cards for older material because the cost of computerizing them was prohibitive. The rate at which material is consulted drops off rapidly. Things more than a few years old are hardly ever consulted except for classics and those doing scholarly research.
Even if full text indexing will become the norm in the future there still needs to be some breakthroughs on retrieval logic. Google and its competitors still use very elementary systems to determine relevance. It's not clear whether they keep their algorithms secret because of competitive fears or embarrassment.