[Publib] Alice McDermott and "You Must Read This"

[K.G. Schneider]

> I also ran a search on Worldcat and found copies in other Maryland
> Libraries.
> 
> For some reason Enoch Pratt (Baltimore city library) didn't turn up in my
> search, so I made a point of accessing that library's catalog.  There are
> several copies available.

A library has to participate in WorldCat-which is not free. It's an
interesting issue: something that looks like a global library catalog that
really isn't.

> (I suggested to McDermott that the library which discarded the copy her
> student had may have been a branch with limited space.  I also reminded
> her gently that consulting with a librarian in advance of an assignment
> might prevent our favorite bugaboo, "Assignments from hell" [although I
> didn't call it that <g>].))

That's always good encouragement, though we need to design our systems
around the assumption that in many information-seeking activities, people
aren't going to consult with a librarian-they will search well-known
databases and draw their conclusions accordingly. 

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com