Jinfo: Serving the Google Generation

Serving the Google Generation
Jinfo Blog

27th September 2007

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The Google generation or iPod generation signals the social preference change in knowledge seeking: Instead of books and libraries, Google & Co. are the first source for information. But books will not disappear, and libraries will stay forever -- because book contents are being deep indexed on Google. Libraries and publishers are adapting themselves to the new generation context. As the identities of knowledge consumer and creator become blurred, user-generated contents are posing a whole new set of challenges to the information industry, ranging from business models to intellectual property rights and leaving much to be debated. In a world where modern transportation and telecommunications technologies have made barrier of geographical distance a thing of past in doing business globally, understanding and bridging cultural differences are becoming increasingly important for business success outside one's home territory. These are among the hot topics at the recent Global Information Industry Submit in Berlin, Germany, where senior executives and industry thought leaders gathered to gain insight on the global strategies of industry leaders, identify new markets and discuss how to meet challenges ahead. In the world of STM publishing, SpringerLink is a powerful central access point to 3.5 million documents for researchers and scientists. Unlike Google, the contents found through SpringerLink and similar premium sources meet higher quality standards. Even for articles published through Springer Open Choice where authors retain copyrights, the peer review process always applies. The documents are professionally produced and available in both print and electronic versions via SpringerLlink. Open Choice makes the articles freely accessible to anyone anywhere in the world, matching the expectations of the Google generation. The British Library does not sit still on its over 150 million items, including 57 million patents, and more than 600 kilometres of shelf collections. It understands the generation context. BL has been actively exploiting the power of Web 2.0 and engaging with social networking sites such as the British Library Book Club on Facebook and using video to promote its Business and IP Center on YouTube BL is currently digitizing 25 million pages of books which will be available online freely accessible to anyone in the world. Open access is not only trendy, but is a necessity for staying fit in business for the future. Knowledge is taking new forms. An industry that relies on knowledge as its business essence is transforming itself for sustainability. That's good news for the Google generation.

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