<p>Recently the New York Times published a letter from a professor at Boston University in response to an article “College Libraries Set Aside Books in a Digital Age.” </p>
<p>He bemoans the fact that many students rely exclusively on on-line research materials. I found the following comments extremely thought-provoking. He writes:</p>
<p>"Reviewing the term papers for classes in “Nationalism in Post-Soviet Eurasia” and “Negotiation in World Affairs” this spring, I have found an almost direct correlation between the best grades and whether students used books as well as materials accessible by computer.</p>
<p>Even though students were instructed to use and cite several required books in their papers, some chose to rely entirely on sources that begin http//. This group of papers benefited from the latest reports on demonstrations in Kiev and Bishkek, but they lacked the depth and long view acquired by spending a few hours with a real book. </p>
<p>Last but not least, there is the problem of evaluating sources. Many seem to regard the Wikipedia online encyclopedia as no worse than a standard, hard-copy encyclopedia. One of my students thought he had discovered the truth about Russia from a Trotskyite newspaper he found on the Web. Who was Trotsky? He did not know or care."</p>
<p>The Internet is a tool. Unfortunately, it’s a tool that has yet to be put into context by many students. I always make sure to include at least a few “hard” sources in anything I write, even if it is just a short policy briefing for work. Why? The Internet suffers from blurbism, much like most other mass media, and often lacks depth of understanding. Sure, I can get news articles from around the world, but who cares if I can’t build a good context around them?</p>
<p>I spent hours in the library at UCLA, and can’t understand why others wouldn’t.</p>
<p>I’ve offered a few courses in which 80% or more of the readings are on the internet rather than in books. You have to consider that it’s not just blurbs and news that can be retrieved and read online (or downloaded) but also an enormous supply of documents and official records, virtually every academic journal, every major news source, statistical information and databases of all sorts, etc.</p>
<p>It’s increasingly important for students to be “resourceful” by knowing how to find and to use sources online.</p>
<p>Of course the intellectual tasks that students may have to perform using such sources are a different matter. They may well be asked to do original analysis and writing, evaluate alternative policies and programs, compare texts or other creations, and so on. They might even be asked to critique a, um, “book” or something.</p>
<p>Oh, I never said that good sources cannot be found on the Internet, just that they are less abundant than at a good research library. I have found fantastic journals on the Web, through CRS, and other similar sources. However, it is my experience that 90% of the Internet is either poorly written or pornographic.</p>
<p>Not saying I’ve never encountered pornography or bad writing on the internet. But students need to learn to find their way to the other stuff, and one of our roles is to assist them. </p>
<p>I do start out certain courses with assignments that require students to go to the library. I also have fond memories of spending hours and hours in the stacks (even of the dust and glue and oxidized paper of books from certain countries) and of enjoying the serendipity of finding things that I never knew existed. But getting more than a handful of undergraduate students to enjoy these things is perhaps a hopeless goal.</p>
<p>To be honest, you’d have to be hard pressed to never have found porn on the 'Net. I mean, anything eventually becomes porn in any search engine.</p>
<p>I agree though. The Internet is a tool that must be taught properly, lest it just become one giant porn factory.</p>
<p>I do enjoy some of the serendipity of search engines, but wasn’t aware that they always degraded into listing porn.</p>
<p>One of my favorite discoveries recently was to type in 9/11 conspiracy on Google and discover 1.5 million links. It’s amazing what’s out there in people’s minds.</p>
<p>Actually, if you ever want to spend fifteen minutes of your time learning how far mankind can degrade itself, just type in a random word and go to the end of the search listing. I’m sure something will come up that will involve naked bodies and food.</p>
<p>I suppose I could test this with my 9/11 conspiracy listing, and see how long it took before I got a porn listing. That’s a task for another day, I’m afraid.</p>
<p>A funny/sad story. While taking a student led tour at Drexel, right after we came out of the library the tour guide said, “Yeah, that’s a really nice building,but the great thing is you don’t even have to go in there. Everything is on-line!”</p>
<p>I work in a public library and it’s amazing how many times I’ve noticed a patron on just about every computer and no one in the “stacks”. Even when kids come in to research a project they will spend the majority of the time on the computer.</p>
<p>The sad thing is that everything has spiraled. Most of the libraries in my area that I have access to are poorly stocked and outdated. This is mostly because of the fact that they aren’t used as much (at least as far as reading nonfiction goes) so they aren’t as well funded. Unfortunately understanding this hasn’t helped me when it comes time to work on a research project, so I’ve had to use resources online as well as purchase my own books. I’ve actually gathered quite a collection of my own that I plan to donate to a local library when I die (or if I just cannot keep them anymore–heaven forbid!).</p>
<p>I envy those people who have a good library that they have access to. It is very sad to hear that they don’t take advantage of that. There’s a lot to be said for pouring through books when working on research. It is becoming a lost art.</p>
<p>Our library is wonderful. It’s brand new, nice size, and very modern. We have about a dozen computers all with high speed internet access, including 3 in a young adult room and one in the childrens room.</p>
<p>It’s right in a community park and we often have parents stop in on their way to or from the playground or from a sports game. It’s less then a mile from the middle and high schools so it’s convenient to stop over after school. It borders a local college and those kids often come in and work. We also have a used book area so we always have books for sale. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, state funding is always low and a lot of our funding comes from the local community. The way to improve libraries are to speak up and let your legislators know that they are important and to become active in fundraising. If everyone (sorry demingy) just feels bad about libraries but doesn’t do anything, nothing will change.</p>
<p>we just got ( last weekend) a brandnew neighborhood library
I haven’t been yet- but it is very ecofriendly ( as are all libraries)
ttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002275600_ballard15m.html
Now if we could just get some updated materials to fill it ( and maybe some showers for patrons who have none)</p>
<p>kathiep, no need to apologize to me. I have worked on fundraisers for a few of our local libraries (and I take every opportunity to talk to people about it). Granted, I do love my own little library too much to give it away, but I don’t sit on my duff. ;)</p>
<p>One of the best uses of the internet in terms of academic work is the availability of academic database resources–this lets people gather articles from various academic journals or qualified news sources, through services like LexisNexus.</p>
<p>I love libraries and never saw a bookstore I did not like. There is something magical about those places. However, we have to recognize that the advent of immediate communications and the explosion of the internet will have a similar impact on popular erudition than Gutemberg’s invention of the press. </p>
<p>There is indeed a lot of “dirt” floating around on the internet, but it is pretty easy to ignore. Focusing solely on pornography and gambling sites would be akin to hesitate to board a cruiser because of a possible collision with an iceberg. </p>
<p>Regarding research, I really fail to understand why anyone -or faculty- considers online sources to be of inferior quality. Isn’t it equally important to be judicious in selecting ALL sources? Is there an automatic seal of approval given to sources that are housed in a stately building? And them, there is the element of timeliness! I think it is fair to assume that our political, if not economic and financial, world of pre 9-11 is vastly different from 2005. While some subjects change at the speed of a three-toed sloth, there are many issues that require contemporary and recent analyses.</p>
<p>The reality is that the tidal wave of availability of 24/7 information will not reverse itself. The current generation will not go back to a world where a few ossified minds decide what is “good” information based on their comfort level with past technology. There is little value to assign projects that are restricted to library sources only, except measuring the willingness to walk into a building and poll the brain and experience of a librarian. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, libraries are magical places, but they also have their limitations. Assignments and projects should not be measured by defining the physical origin of sources, but by analyzing how appropriate the research was to lead to the correct conclusions.</p>
<p>Google is trying to provide something of a solution of sorts (a bit of a qualified endorsement, eh?) with <a href=“http://scholar.google.com%5B/url%5D”>http://scholar.google.com</a> . Most hits are peer-reviewed. Until things get really better, though, I simply ban internet sources being cited in papers in a graduate class I teach. If they find it on the Internet, the students can darn well order the source through interlibrary loan and determine, among other things, who the editorial board/readers are which will establish some credibility.</p>
<p>There is hope. For instance, entering seven of nine or “seven of nine” in <a href=“http://scholar.google.com%5B/url%5D”>http://scholar.google.com</a> did not appear to produce any Star Trek:The Next Generation or Jeri Ryan hits (see my thread on Star Wars III ticket campers). Www.google.com produced nothing but TV series’ references.</p>
<p>“Until things get really better, though, I simply ban internet sources being cited in papers in a graduate class I teach.”</p>
<p>Most interesting, yet shocking!</p>
<p>Aren’t there MANY sources that are ONLY available on the internet? For instance, let’s take a trivial subject such as the history of the SAT, and particularly, the development of the writing requirement of the SAT. Do you truly believe that ONLY hardcover books are worth quoting? And should we wait, say another two years, before books find their way to the local libraries before being able to form an opinion on the changes of 2005. </p>
<p>Actually, allow me to make a strong statement: anyone who would stick to non-internet sources would miss the most important facts beyond the changes of the SAT. For instance, without documented online sources, most people would miss how disingenuous Richard Atkinson was when he started advocating for the changes to the SAT, and later covered his bases with a few self-serving, if not entirely bogus, internal “research”. </p>
<p>Further, do printed books have a monopoly on correct information? If the books commonly used in K-12 and undergraduate education are any indication, the answer ought to be a loud “Hell no”. </p>
<p>My conclusion is that it is human nature to fear what is not easily … understood! It is a shame that academia doesn’t seem to be pioneers in embracing progress, and especially a phenomenom that is no longer in the future but firmly in our present.</p>
<p>PS Internet searches are not restricted to the basic google. Finding the right answers depends highly on asking the right questions. As you said, there is hope … for all!</p>
<p>I work for an academic publisher, so I deal with this matter every day - Very interesting to speak with the various universities, hearing their plans for print vs electronic. We are now publishing our multi-volume reference sets electronically (rather like e-books), as well as in print, so librarians have a choice to make (except for the rare few than can afford both versions). There is definitely something “good for the soul” about digging into the stacks, but publishers have come a long way in providing quality academic references available online as well as print. The searchability of e-reference is a real asset, but librarians are finding many students doing their searches, then PRINTING the pages they want to read! There are so many issues to consider, including distance learners, commuters, and even the prof’s that want remote access to reference. I’m glad I’m not in a position to make these decisions for a university library!</p>