In defence of Amazon...

Chad, K. & Miller, P. (2005). “Do libraries matter? The rise of library 2.0”

Remember this self-referential piece from last month? Something wonderful happened as a result of reading it, even though Chad & Miller's piece was so transparent. One of the recommendations made by the authors is that commercial systems like Amazon be integrated with public libraries so that a user who finds their book unavailable has the option to buy it, or borrow it from the library. The illustration in the article shows a list of libraries that a user could query in search of their item. I was on my third coffee in the Inforum while reading this and went to check out Amazon, because I wasn't familiar with the site. Chad & Miller talk like the site is so wonderful, I just had to give it the ultimate challenge. Ever since I had access to the Internet, I've searched for two books that I loved as a child: The All of A Kind Family by Sydney Taylor and What the Witch Left by Ruth Chew. Both are out of print and I've felt a little lost without them. I found both books from Thrift Books, used, for a combined total of $0.64. When I got a hit for All of a Kind I gasped and got all teary - Alli Larsh thought I had deleted my paper. Both books came this week and are waiting for their new home which will be delivered tomorrow. Witch was so much thinner than I remember, and a lot of space between the words. In my head the story is huge, they go to Mexico for heaven's sake. I'm not convinced that Library 2.0 is such a great idea for the library. Adding commercial components to public institutions is always the thin edge of the wedge so, I am feeling conflicted in my delight. Now to find a VHS version of the Dark Crystal...