Amazon.com was another outside search engine that played a prevalent role in individuals' search processes. Derek and Katie (as she explains below) said they use Amazon to search for books they want to buy because they think that they will consult them often, which, of course, is Amazon's intended function. (For a complete transcript of the interview with Katie, see the Words link or download the pdf transcript here.)
Figure 6. Katie discusses her use of the www.amazon.com website
But Janine said she uses Amazon less for its intended commercial purposes than as a "pre-resource" for future library searches. She indicated she consults Amazon to find a source and her school's library web site to see if the library has it. She said,
as you can hear in the audio clip below, "I often use Amazon in conjunction with the library home page, so I'll search on Amazon first and then I'll plug it in to our library to see if I can get it through the University of Illinois system. And I told one of the librarians that and she was horrified." The librarian's response here illustrates a disconnect between how some librarians think researchers search for sources--or at least how they think researchers should search for sources -- and how they actually search. (For a complete transcript of the interview with Janine, see the Words link or download the pdf transcript here.)
Figure 7. Janine discusses her combined use of Amazon and library databases
It is interesting to note that both Janine and Derek do research in technology studies, which means that their search needs include information that is constantly being changed and updated--a process that often makes the library a less-than-efficient resource. In many libraries, for example, recent book purchases are not available for inter-library loan or are put on reserve and not available for check out by home-institution members. It is possible, therefore, that their need for up-to-date information actually forces Janine and Derek to turn to outside resources to find and access current information. Yet Mark and Katie, whose research interests are not specialized in this way, also indicate that they use Amazon.com as a preliminary search tool. We feel that Janine's comments about using Amazon.com as an organizational tool are a key to explaining this behavior. The idea that databases like Amazon.com offer particular configurations of information that researchers find useful when compiling lists of keywords is important and may offer a good starting point for looking more closely at how library-controlled databases shape the compilation process in ways that users feel are less efficient--or just less comfortable.
The following page provides an example of Janine's use of Amazon, together with Google, for such work.
