Librarians Sourced for Search

This press release came across my desk today:

Researchers and developers from OCLC... today announced their participation in a new international effort to explore the creation of a more credible Web search experience based on input from librarians around the globe. Called the "Reference Extract," the planning phase of this project is funded through a $100,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation...

Reference Extract is envisioned as a Web search experience similar to those provided by the world’s most popular search engines. However, unlike other search engines, Reference Extract will be built for maximum credibility of search results by relying on the expertise of librarians. Users will enter a search term and receive results weighted toward sites most often used by librarians at institutions such as the Library of Congress, the University of Washington, the State Library of Maryland, and over 2,000 other libraries worldwide.

I'm really excited about this, and if it comes to fruition I plan on contributing. Still, $100,000 seams like peanuts for startup... The capital invested into Cuil exceeds this small sum by several orders of magnitude, yet it's still flopped dramatically. Still, I think the idea is gold, so long as the web platform can be effectively developed, a decent user base can be established, and links really are quality.

The utility of crowd sourcing is perhaps over-rated, but given that contributors are drawn from a clearly defined group, a group that's professionally compelled to take part in this sort of activity, it just could work.

There's more on the official ReferenceExtract site.