Yes, I did email Paul Miller. I was frustrated at my difficulty in finding out how many times Ken Chad and Paul Miller's article "Do Libraries Matter?" is referenced on the Web of Science (3 times, although 14 times on Google Scholar). It occurred to me that I could probably find out by emailing Paul directly - so I sent him an email.
He was kind enough not only to reply, and reply quickly, but to give me a thoughtful response. In case any of you are interested, his email response is copied below (he gave me permission to quote him). You may note that our blog entries about "Do Libraries Matter?" are read by more than just our class - Paul Miller reads them himself!
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Michele -
Hi, and thanks for your interest in the white paper.
Hi, and thanks for your interest in the white paper.
I'm afraid I don't know how many times it has been cited, as we tend not to track that sort of engagement. We do keep an eye on ongoing blog coverage from those such as your classmates, but that is about all that we do.
The white paper was very much intended as a point-in-time view of an emerging trend. It was intended to stimulate discussion (of the trend, not the paper), and it certainly succeeded in that. As such, it was not written in the manner of an academic piece, and it's been interesting/amusing/depressing to see some of the recent critiques assessing it as if it were a formal paper. It wasn't written as one, and it never pretended to be one.
It's been great to see expectations and assumptions change since the paper was written. That it can be criticised by some, now, for not saying anything 'new' is actually great. The world has moved. The paper played a part in that. When it was written, too much of it was not taken for granted... and now maybe too much is. Although expectations and assumptions have moved on, the reality on the ground in most libraries still has a long way [t]o go...
Paul
5 comments:
This is great! I'm really impressed that you emailed him, and surprised that he reads our blogs! (ugh). I liked what he said about the paper never being intended to be critiqued as an academic paper, but considering that they are pushing OSS and come from Talis they might have been able to anticipated the kind of scrutiny they got -- and provided better sources as a result.
Wow!
Am I ever impressed that you emailed him! Very brave, indeed! And, like Lola, I'm horrified to hear that he reads our blogs. 8o
You are a brave soul. It's kind of creepy and strange to realized that I ripped this guy's work to shreds, and really he sounds like a decent, thoughtful person.
In regards to your latest posting about studying alone: I am also a commuter, although within Toronto, and because I am often working right before or right after class, I never feel I can "connect" with others in the program. I am happy to form a study/motivation/remind each other of deadlines group.
I can be found on facebook under Klara Ashkenazy.
Good luck with your software eval!
Next time i will change the focus to be less of an article review to more of a read and discuss approach...gord
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