Google and Librarians

I just got back from a conference of librarians. Learned some new and interesting things, particularly in the sphere of technology and libraries. Rolled my eyes at a few parts. In some ways, librarians are two political; I don't care what part of the political spectrum you're on, but please, it's not the place of a library association to make judgments on non-library related events). If a librarian has an opinion on the War on Iraq or what have you, fine and good. Voice it. Just keep the organization out of it. We have enough challenges without dipping our fingers into realms unconnected to librarianship.

Enough of that rant. What bothered me today was the remark of a fellow library science student:

"I am finding Google to be almost ruthless. They stop at nothing to dominate. I refuse to be a Googlarian!"

My response is as follows:

Google is no more evil or benevolent than any company; like other businesses, they give customers what they want and build a reputation accordingly, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Currently, they have the good opinion of the general public, for better or worse.

I personally wonder if by establishing one's self as an anti-Googlarian won't hurt libraries more than it helps them. Yes, we want patrons to know about the many wonderful services libraries offer, yes, we want to make sure they know 'good' sources from 'bad' ones. But is it necessary to cement the stereotype that librarians are hostile to the googlization trend?

I teach users that Google is a wonderful tool, but it is just that, a tool. It is excellent for some things, and terrible than others, just like a hammer is wonderful for hammering a nail, while a hacksaw simply won't gain you anything other than multiple gashes in the wall (and possibly scratches and cuts on the nail). Does this mean we should discourage the use of hacksaws? Of course not!

What we need to do is teach users how to use search engines more effectively. Your average bright six year old can use google, but your average sixteen year old might not be aware of all the ways you can phrase something so that the exact information needed is found.

At least, that's my two cents. Sorry for the rant, all.