Listservs….not for me

May 13th, 2004

The Young Librarian has a discussion about listservs, giving reasons why she is a member of 12 (that’s right, 12) of ‘em. She makes some good points:

“Each listserv does serve a specific purpose. There are a couple of listservs which have considerable overlap in general purpose, but each has it’s own personality, despite sharing many members. I like that I can go to these listservs with the same question and get such a broad variety of responses in content and tone. Also, each list is going to have a quirk to it that is not replicated anywhere else.”

“They are a supplement to the professional literature, both electronic and print that I read. I often see discussions pop up on the lists in response to articles in the professional literature.”

“They are networking opportunities for me. I have made friends that I will tap for more information on areas of opportunity further along in my career.”

Agreed on all accounts, but I find that there is may too much informationn on listservs that do not pertain to me. I hypothesize that at least 90% do not assist me in any of my work (professional or personal) Even Law-Lib, which is for law librarians. I think that the local listservs serve more of a purpose than those with a national or international audience. To each his/her own, however. Just count me out.

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