GEOREF AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR -- SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Internet surfers have demonstrated an increasing tendency to depend on Google (or one of its domains like Google Scholar) for every information need. When combined with tight library budgets this observed tendency can lead library administrators, librarians, researchers, and students to question why they should pay for subject-specific bibliographic services when a free search engine like Google Scholar is available. Major differences abound between a structured bibliographic system like GeoRef and the one-size-fits-most approach of Google Scholar. Currency, comprehensiveness, ease of use, user expectations, search features, ability to integrate in library systems, and access to full-text differ significantly between Google Scholar and bibliographic services like GeoRef. An outline of the current differences between the two systems will be developed. Through an examination of the similarities and differences between Google Scholar and some of the implementations of GeoRef, the strengths and weaknesses of each system for a variety of purposes will be presented.