[BC] libraries vs on-line research

[Alan Kline]

One other thing that occurred to me, in addition to what Donna and
others have posted on this subject--

A very important thing that brick-and-mortar libraries have, that
cyberspace doesn't, are trained staff ready and willing to help 
patrons find what they need quickly.  The best web search engine 
isn't a match for a real person with the training and experience
to make searching efficient--or fun--or both.

As Barry and Donna point out, the growth of cyberspace makes it
that much easier for known inaccuracies to be propagated as truth,
to the point where they can never be corrected.  I recently bought
and downloaded the e-version of a book on Philo Farnsworth.  The
author goes to quite a bit of trouble to debunk the myths that
were once spread by and about David Sarnoff--and then goes on to
add a few errors of his own...

Someone mentioned the inability of small-town libraries to afford
access to all of the electronic databases that are available, even
now.  True enough, but not even major libraries can afford absolutely
everything.  If this ideal of universal digital access is going
to become reality, some way has to be found to finance it, while
making access available to all on an equitable basis.

Obviously, our civic leaders have no illusions about brick-and-
mortar libraries going away, as they keep building them.  While
they build new libraries today with lots of computers and 'net
access--our new one has free wi-fi throughout--they also build 'em
with lots and lots of room for lots and lots of new paper books.

ak

On 6/27/2006 11:20:57 AM, Donna Halper (dlh at donnahalper.com) wrote:
> 
> Amen to that.  I was just working on a journal article, as I proceed
> slowly
> towards my PhD, and it just amazes me how one erroneous "fact" is
> quoted
> thousands of times in cyberspace by people who NEVER checked the original
> 
> to see if
> that's what it really said.  Partisan websites and broadcasters
> do this all the time-- and before the flame wars begin, I say again that
> BOTH sides do this-- cherrypicking "facts" to make their case and then
> assuming nobody will check the original.  It's
> a real problem for those of
> us who want to do fair and accurate research.
> 
> As has been said elsewhere, the big issue is still the haves versus the
> have nots.  Many libraries in rural and poor parts of the country cannot
> afford all the fancy-shmancy databases with the newspaper full-text
> information, and as a result, students who use those libraries are behind
> 
> in doing their research, while students from wealthier neighbourhoods can
> 


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