The OCLC data-grab has hit the “real” media—an article in the Guardian. The article asks the simple question, “Why you can’t find a library book in your search engine?”

It’s an obvious question. The answer isn’t quite as simple as they put it. Libraries would be in Google if their library catalogs could be spidered. But they’d still be hampered by OCLC in various ways. Anyway the coverage of OCLC, Open Library, LCSH.info and LibraryThing are spot-on. And the subtle nationalist angle—an American site!—can’t hurt.*

Three cheers for the Guardian. Next up, the New York Times? We can hope.

*Did you know OCLC invaded Iraq?

Labels: guardian, oclc