Post-Tasini Class Action Case Settling for Up to $18 Million

Post-Tasini Class Action Case Settling for Up to $18 Million: "One set of parties remains without remedy. Consumers still turn to databases expecting comprehensive coverage and do not receive it, since articles have been removed or were never entered into the files. Murray hoped that the settlement would encourage authors to allow publishers and database firms to incorporate missing material into their databases. Since failure to grant future electronic rights permission knocks 35 percent off the fees paid to claimants, the authors should have sufficient motivation."

"Now, if we could only guarantee that publisher and database firms would rise to the occasion." Thank you, Barbara Quint!

I see that there are two sets of parties remaining: consumers and libraries! OK, libraries are consumers, but we're also gateways, and I've never felt like I could adequately explain to patrons that the databases do not provide comprehensive coverage. Of course, what percentage of our electronic resource patrons ever even speak to a librarian?

"Self-service" for our PC Reservation system has drastically reduced the amount of interaction between librarians and patrons. This is "all to the good" in the minds of many, but I worry about the baby and the bath water. Many patrons are more apologetic than ever approaching me for assistance. Though I don't wear a "Disturb Me!" T-shirt, I'm very approachable. (Downright friendly. Sometimes lonely. Saved from boredom by reading blogs and blogging.)

So how to convey the continuing incompleteness and inexactness of electronic databases? I'm back on my hobby horse. My LAs (Library Assistants in MPOW parlance) had a meeting yesterday and expressed much confusion between the ProQuest Historical New York Times and the ProQuest Newspapers and PressDisplay. I have to extrapolate that if LAs in the Newspapers can't understand the differences in these products, which are confusing (!), then there is little chance that people who don't work in the department understand them. Big sigh.

I do want to mention that I found this article via a Google News Alert--a great good thing. So even though I worry that Google has confounded our business on many levels, I thank them.