LISNews: Librarian News

Someone writes \"This is kind of interesting. Sirsi and Sagebrush Corporation have partnered to give Sagebrush a multiuser system to sell to the school market. Sagebrush has been buying marketshare for two years now and this allows them a slice of the pie that normally goes to the larger multiuser systems like Sirsi. None of the major vendors have shown any real talent in targeting this market. Whatt does this mean for Follet and Sirs? My guess is it doesn\'t hurt the bread and butter part of the business for Follet, the single school. To be truthful they could never win thoughs to begin with. However it does make Sagebrush more interesting to the multi-site school installations which are gravey to the larger vendors. So Sirsi now has someone dedicated to this market so that the other large vendors will have to fight for the large sites with the handicap of not really knowing the market.

The Press Release \"

Former Education Secretary William Bennett is one of the folks out selling some new online schools. Bennett once gave schools\' efforts to increase use of computers in teaching an \"F-\". Cnet has the Full Story.

Washington Post has another story on the same thing. Sounds like a big gamble on some vaporware.

\"It\'s a back-to-basics approach,\" Bennett said. \"We\'re combining traditional learning and powerful technology.\"

Brad Stephens sent along this look at AskUsQuestions.com . Check it out, this is a really neat idea, and they will be adding more libraries as they go along.

One of the most important trends for all libraries within the
next five years will be developing a "bricks and clicks"
service orientation. With this orientation, not only will
libraries continue offering existing "in-house"
services, but new services will also be developed and existing
services altered so that they can be offered to patrons outside
of the physical building via the web.

Many libraries have already begun developing such resources with
the implementation of remote patron access to subscription
databases, web accessible catalog systems, and email-based
reference - but more can be done. And more is exactly what
AskUsQuestions.com seeks to provide. -- Read More

Search Engine Guide has this really strange article about a man who was having a heart attack, jumped on Dogpile did a boolean search, and saved his own life. Who said that Internet was bad for you.\"While doing homework for a class at Sinclair Community College, Mr. Russell found himself facing an adversary even more dangerous than Simon Bar Sinister; chest pains. As the pains quickly became severe and a terrible pressure grew in his chest, Mr. Russell became concerned. He decided to launch a search on Dogpile to help him track down a list of heart attack symptoms to see if they matched what he was feeling. Relying on Dogpile\'s ability to handle Boolean search commands, Mr. Russell typed \'symptoms and \"heart attack\"\' to help him pinpoint the life saving information he needed fast.\" -- Read More