[BC] libraries vs on-line research

[Donna Halper]

>Dale wrote--
>A similar principle would apply in our line of work. If a site says that 
>KDKA was the first radio station, what records from the 1920s does it cite 
>to support that claim? This is a field (source citations) where Donna 
>Halper is perhaps the best qualified of all of us - it is her stock in trade.

And Barry as well.  Both of us get really frustrated by how often old myths 
are recycled as "facts" when the event either didn't happen at all (no Al 
Gore did NOT say he invented the internet-- he said he was the first 
senator to have a web page, and that happens to be factual, whether you 
like him or not) or didn't happen the way the person told it for years (no, 
David Sarnoff was not at work the night the Titanic was sinking-- the 
store, and undoubtedly the building where he worked, was closed that 
night); and no no no KDKA was NOT the "first radio station in the world" 
unless you decide that Argentina and Canada are not part of the world, 
since both had stations on the air in 1919, and there really were several 
other American companies broadcasting earlier in 1920 than KDKA.  Bottom 
line, as the internet increasingly becomes the first source people use, 
just be skeptical of claims that have no documentation to support 
them.  And when sources are cited, try to check to see if in fact that 
source really does back up the claim. I find often that when I check the 
source itself, it says absolutely nothing about the event it is being used 
to "prove".  Checking things out whenever possible may mean a little more 
work, but you'll be a lot more accurate in the end.