RE: Are banner ads acceptable on licesnsed databases?

["Peter Picerno" <ppicerno@choctaw.astate.edu>]

In hy humble opinion, Absolutely Not!! There's already enough commercial
pollution of the internet (I mean, when was the last time you booted up a
search engine that didn't look like Times Square), and further confusing
patrons who are intent on doing real searches for real information is not,
in my opinion, part of a library's mission. Is no part of our lives to be
kept out of the manipulative hands of entrepreneurs who are, and let's be
real about this, simply after a buck??

P Picerno


Colleagues,

I need your opinion. An online database vendor has asked me if librarians
would accept or object to their placing banner ads, visible to library
patrons, on licensed databases hosted by their company?

What would be your reaction? Not care; accepting; would cancel the
subscription or?  I take it that they feel they could charge lower fees if
they had the additional revenue from the ads.

What's your feeling?