Toolbar Schmoolbar

One of the blogs I follow regularly is Stephen's Lighthouse. Stephen Abram impressed me as a speaker several years ago at a conference at Library and Archives Canada. He's now with SirsiDynix -- self proclaimed "global leader in strategic technology solutions for libraries".

A few days ago Stephen blogged on "Building Your Own Library Toolbar". The article even had a link to a toolbar developed for the Ottawa Public Library. It crossed my mind to develop one for BIFHSGO, but I had second thoughts. In promoting the idea Stephen wrote:

"This is a great way to gain 'shelfspace' on your users' monitors. You'll always be there as a presence and service reminding them about the books, but also your events, databases, virtual reference, story hours and more."

This strikes out for me. It's not looking at things from the user perspective where the library is a small part of their life. I already dedicate enough valuable desktop real estate to administrative overhead and don't need to lose even more when my existing desktop tools, which include a link to my library website, do what I need anyway.