My friend Steve-O wrote me this email:
[i]I read this article about the closing of a U Texas undergraduate libraryin favor of an electronic facility. It disturbed me, but a bunch of
people thought it was a good idea. My worry is that the move is reflective of the dumbed-down shift to on-demand information, rather than serious research. For research students, the added facility would be a good ting, but I don't see it as a good move for undergraduates....[/i]
link to the NYT
[i]Anyway, you're a librarian. What do you think?[/i]
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The Librarian weighs in:
What, are you saying that online research (ie. getting full-text journal articles) isn't in-depth research? On-demand information is fantastic, in my opinion. if you're looking for a journal article, why not find it online in your pjs rather than having to hoof it to the library and copy it? I feel that most research, both online and paper-based, ends up as a pile of A4 (in your case) sized paper sitting at your desk. Photocopies or printouts, it doesn't matter much.
However, there are a few main problems with online research in general:
1. The Interweb is NOT AUTHORATATIVE!!!! Some students just don't get the difference betwen journals online and some guy spewing crap that you found by searching google. Here's a rule of thumb:
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Journals on the interweb, chosen password protected and purchased by librarians= research.
www.mattsgaragelibrarydictionary.com = not reseearch
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2. Plagiarism-- PChippy finds it ALL of the time, and probably misses even more.
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3. Online resources might go away if someone pulls the plug or there is a virus. Someone has to keep a paper backup copy someplace. Also, online companies have been known to discontinue journals and just dump all of the old issues.
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4. Libraries don't 'own' back issues of journals. If you don't pay your subscription fee, you're up shit's creek. You don't even have access to the old stuff.
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5. Online subscriptions are ridiculously expensive, forcing libraries to close facilities. However, Harvard closed a library recently, but it was a library that replicated almost exactly the same information in another library at Harvard. i.e. it was a library of convenience. Am I sad people lost their jobs? yes. Am I sad that they got rid of a library of convenience for another library of convenience online? no.
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My point-- Librarians provide access to information in many forms, and always have. Old librarians might not have the ability to move with the times and work with online material, but who is deciding what journals/resources are being bought for the online library? Librarians.
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However, I deal with the old stuff, all of which comes on paper, so what do I know?
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G Lib
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PS This is a [i]very[/i] oversimplified version of how I actually feel.