Gorman's views on the
Internet,
digitisation of books,
Google,
citizen journalism, and
information science are widely discussed. Two publications in particular caused heated debate, particularly within the librarian blogging community: • the 2004 article "Google and God's Mind", originally printed in the
Los Angeles Times • the 2005 response article "Revenge of the Blog People!", originally printed in
Library Journal.
Digitisation In 2004 Google announced its plan to digitize the collections of five major research libraries. This would allow both Google and the libraries in question, The
University of Michigan, Oxford, New York Public, Harvard and Stanford, to have access to digitized copies of millions of texts. Michael Gorman, then ALA president, responded to this announcement with an article in the Los Angeles Times 'Google and God's Mind' where he made clear his disapproval of the digitisation project. This disapproval was based on what he sees as a clear distinction between
information and
real knowledge. Gorman defines information as facts, data, images and quotations that can be used out of context, while real knowledge denotes literary and scholarly texts. This distinction informs Gorman's observations about online information retrieval which he characterises as being more focused on quick and easy access to facts. In his later article, Gorman argues that to "Google boosters", speed is of the greatest import: "...just as it is to consumers of fast "food", but, as with fast food, rubbish is rubbish, no matter how speedily it is delivered". In 2006, during his term as head of the ALA, Gorman attended the Online Information Conference in London, where he criticised the library profession for being "too interested in technology". Gorman, however, is not opposed to digitising books per se, but feels that particular types of information, such as inter alia dictionaries, encyclopaedias and gazetteers are suitable candidates for digitisation, while other forms of real knowledge such as whole books (especially scholarly books) and large databases are not suitable for digitisation.
Blogging Many of the responses to Gorman's article were voiced in the digital domain, with many library and information themed blogs criticising Gorman's opinions, although some bloggers agreed with some of Gorman's stance on digitisation. Gorman credits these responses as making him aware of blogging and leading to him writing Revenge of the Blog People!,
Library Journal, which published Gorman's piece, commented on the decision to publish the piece, noting that the discussion had been beneficial and that: The power of the blogosphere as a new way to communicate ideas and spread news electronically has been reinforced for all [Library Journal staff]. The journal went on to announce that they would be carrying a technology blog on their website. One blogger, Michael Stephens, who wrote an open letter to Gorman, which he published on his blog, was so inspired by the subject that he chose to write his doctoral thesis on blogging in librarianship. Michael Gorman went on to create blog entries of his own for the
Encyclopædia Britannica Blog. In the entry "
Web 2.0: The Sleep of Reason", he notes how the rise of Web 2.0 has contributed to "an increase in credulity and an associated flight from expertise". In "Siren Song of the Internet", he writes that, although the Internet has shaped our lives in many ways for the better, "we must exercise judgment, use digital resources intelligently, and import into the digital world the values that have pervaded scholarship in Western societies for many centuries". In "Jabberwiki: The Educational Response", he states that discussed how the Web offers texts that are of "doubtful or unestablishable authenticity" how using the Web for research can lead to incomplete research, and the dubious nature of Web-based learning. Finally, in "Challenging the Technophiles", Gorman argues in favor of "sustained reading of complex texts" but notes that Google and the Internet are not helpful in that endeavor.
Personal opinions and spokesmanship Despite holding such an influential position in the American Library Association, Gorman has made it clear that many of his criticisms are personal and not representative of the ALA. For example, on technology and the Google digitisation, Gorman says: "The Google project has been enthusiastically embraced and I think that is a mistake. I am not speaking on behalf of the ALA. That has no position on the Google digitisation project. I, on the other hand, do". In regards to Wikipedia, Gorman once stated that "a professor who encourages the use of Wikipedia is the intellectual equivalent of a dietician who recommends a steady diet of Big Macs with everything". Other commentators have also noted that irrespective of his protestations, the perception on the wider world and the media is that Gorman represents the profession and this can be detrimental to public perception of librarians. Gorman has spoken extensively on the problems facing library education, particularly in the USA. He proposes the need to restructure library education in the 21st century, focusing on changes in curricula, faculty, and diversity in library education. Gorman believes that students are too focused on learning without goals in mind and that educators are too inclined to change everything just because the internet and all its resources has arrived and that instead, it should be used as an accompaniment to existing educational methods.
The importance of the book Since his first book (with
Walt Crawford), Gorman has stressed the importance of the book in the place of the library and Gorman has suggested that only books can bestow true knowledge on the reader. He emphasises the importance of the book throughout his works. He has expressed concern at the way research has become simply typing a few works in a search engine and says that serious research is impossible to carry out using this method without the additional reading of books.
Spirituality in librarianship Christianity Michael Gorman presented
Our Enduring Values to the Association of Christian Libraries (ACL) and further reviews of his book have suggested that the eight proposed values which librarians should follow are more closely related to
biblical theism than the humanistic beliefs Gorman believes. Further work by the ACL has developed ideas relating to the formulation of a Christian approach to library values.
Ethical beliefs In Gorman's publications, he focuses on the importance on the preserving of information and knowledge and the importance of the librarian in helping to achieve this. In Gorman's eight values, he stresses the importance of a librarian having strong values and an ethical stance because these will help the librarian in their job. Failure is bearable because the decisions that caused that failure are based on a person's own beliefs and a person secure in their values is more likely to have higher self-esteem. The importance of librarians reflecting on their own decisions and responsibilities can be seen in
Our Singular Strengths and
Our Own Selves which feature meditations for librarians, which librarians can use to reaffirm their own profession. ==Publications==