Google Targets Librarians with Newsletter.

Google wants to bring librarians into the fold. A new quarterly electronic publication from the search engine, "Newsletter for Librarians," is aimed at both public and school librarians, with stories and tips that can help them-and Google-with its "mission to organize the world's information," says Jodi Healy, manager of Google's Library Partnership Team, which publishes the newsletter.

Google came up with the idea after attending the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago in June 2005. After handing out 200 cards inviting librarians to sign up for the newsletter, more than 10,000 people ended up registering, Healy says.

This is hardly Google's first foray into the library world. The company recently launched the Books Library Project, which includes Google's Book Search, an online card catalog with information about various texts, places where they can be purchased, and links to libraries where the titles can be checked out.

The newsletter's first issue, which appeared in December 2005, addresses one of the most frequent questions Google hears from librarians: How does Google index the Web and rank results? Future issues will feature articles contributed by librarians, links to library-related Web sites, and updates of Google products and services that can help librarians.

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By Lauren Barack