Emerging Technologies Consulting

Bionic Teaching points to a poster that sets up an opposition between the library and the Internet.  According to the poster, the library wins hands down.  Tom presents a point by point rebuttal that is spot on.  The thing is, this is a false dichotomy.  Yes, libraries have things that the Internet doesn’t, but the Internet has things (YouTube video anyone?) that the library doesn’t. They can exist together, and in fact, most of the librarians I know are completely web savvy and are working hard to bridge the gap between the library and the Internet and to take advantage of developments such as tagging and apply them to libraries.  I do a lot of research, both via the library and via the Internet.  I have to say that I’m frequently disappointed by my library research.  First, I have to figure out which database to do my search in.  Will what I need be in JSTOR or ProQuest or the MLA database?  Next, I have to figure out how to search.  Can I just put in some key words or do I need to know a special language in order to conduct a search? Then, I have to find the actual material.  Will there be a full-text version online and will I have to reconduct the search in order to find it or will there just be a link? (I have actually had to re-do a search before!)  Or will the material need to be ordered from another library or will I have to physically go pick up the material?  At any one of those points, I can get frustrated.  I end up using Google Scholar quite a bit, setting my preferences for my own library rather than try to figure out where and how to search.  Sometimes that ends up giving me a head start on an actual library searching, clueing me in to what database to use and what keywords are most likely to give me good results.  Sometimes I resort to plain old Google, hoping to find papers posted on faculty web sites or to find non-scholarly work related to my topic.  So, I see libraries and the Internet as co-existing.  Gatekeeping attitudes like the one represented by the poster only serve to turn people off to the library.  It makes me feel like I’m not good enough to set foot in one because I (gasp) use the Internet.  Libraries may need to simplify some of what they do (sometimes this is made more difficult by publishing companies) so that searching for library materials is more like searching Google, hopefully better!  And they definitely need to drop the attitude that there’s one right way to do research.  Research is a process that requires not just searching Google and searching library databases, but also knowing who to ask for suggestions, i.e. tapping into your network.  Libraries can be places where they teach this process effectively (I know many that do), and teachers need to do the same.  I’ve seen far too many students who don’t use the library resources, mostly because they find the process baffling.  Teachers need to a) help students learn this process and b) encourage them to visit the library and talk to a librarian in person (or via IM as many libraries now have this option).  The debate isn’t about *where* to find the best information but about *how* to find the best information, using the resources available to you.  Let’s have that discussion instead of pitting these two resources against each other.