Reading #5
“Information Navigation 101”
Andrea Foster
College students are tech savvy when it comes to social networks, iPods, phones, cameras, and computers. But when it comes to writing an academic research paper, college students rely on Google and Wikipedia instead of the numerous scholarly journals that are available. This article predicts that maybe the X Generation isn’t so technically savvy after all. With more than 100 million websites and 18,000 journals, students can be overwhelmed with the amounts of information available and are often confused on where to find reliable and accurate information. “Information literacy” is a new trend that is sweeping across campuses lead by libraries with the hopes of teaching s students how to locate and evaluate electronic information. Some campuses are requiring students to prove that they are competent in information literacy by completing tests, holding a library degree or completing tutorials.
Through my experience in the LIB 103 class, I never knew there was so much to information literacy and the Internet. I always thought I was fairly knowledgeable about how to use the Internet, but I was mistaken. Doing research outside of Google does take more work, but the work will pay off with higher quality work and therefore higher grades which is what all college students should strive for. I think having the LIB 103 class offered as a required course is a great idea and colleges should consider this. While I do think that tests are a good idea, I think having a required course is the first step to improving information literacy.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
News Report #5
“10 Reasons Why the Internet is No Substitute for a Library”
Mark Y. Herring
3/10/08
http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/10reasonswhy.cfm
A lot of people are beginning to think that the Internet is replacing libraries; however, this article attempts to remind people of the services that a library offers that the Internet cannot offer. It is a well known fact that reading test scores among school children nationwide are below ideal levels and with the introduction of the Internet to our everyday lives this will only build upon the current problem and making it worse in the future. While the Internet does have its place, it does lack the following qualities.
1. Not everything is on the Internet. There are over one billion web pages which may seem like a lot of information as it is, but the quality is lacking immensely. Only about 8% of all journals are on the web and even fewer books. These journals cost enormous amounts of money to acquire and will likely never be available on the web.
2. The Needle in the Haystack. The article states that “the Internet is like a vast uncatalogued library”. Search engines have a particular index encrypted into their design. So while you think that Google may have all the answers you need, Yahoo might have a website that is perfect for your search but you may not have thought to look there. More importantly, this information that can be found on the web is likely to be out of date and irrelevant to current issues.
3. Quality control doesn’t exist. Anyone has access to post information on the web. (Enough said in my opinion.) There is probably more "garbage" than worthwhile material on the web. A sixth grader can learn how to build a bomb in his kitchen just be clicking a few buttons. ..scary.
4. What you don’t know really does hurt you. Journals can be published online but often you find isn’t complete. Full text articles are rare and tables, charts and graphs may be missing or distorted.
5. States can now buy one book and distribute to every library on the web-NOT! Luckily, vendors who deliver e-books only allow one digitized copy per library. So if someone checks out the online book, someone else can’t check it out until it is returned. This maintains the integrity of the book and the copyright that comes along with it.
6. You Forgot about E-book Readers. The Amazon Kindle is a great idea in theory. But when actually used for reading books, many people suffer from eye-strain and headaches. Most people prefer to read from a physical book than read online or from a screen.
7. Aren’t there library-less universities now? The most recently build university in California began its operations without a library and soon they found themselves buying books in the tens of thousands because the Internet does not have all the answers!
8. What about a virtual state library? The costs associated with digitized all the printed material written is ridiculously high and would bankrupt a state. A figure given in the article states that in order to virtualize a medium-sized library of 400,000 volumes would cost ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! A few consequences to think about are what do you do with all the material after it has been digitized, throw it away? What do you do if the power goes out? Very legitimate points, in my opinion.
9. The Internet: A mile wide, an inch deep. Not much information on the Internet is over 15 years old! A very good point as to why libraries are so important. How can you do a proper research paper on a history topic when the information you find online is only from 1993?!?
10. The Internet is ubiquitous but books are portable. In a recent survey done of those who like to buy electronic books online, more than 80% said they like buying paper books over the Internet. Books will never disappear because of the relaxation and escape that they offer to readers. You can’t escape with a computer sitting on your lap while curled up next to the fire; it is better accomplished with a simple paper book.
I think this article is really interesting and does a great job highlighting the assets of libraries. Some of the points I found most striking was number ten. I travel a lot and lugging a laptop around with me, worrying about the battery running low, finding an outlet, waiting to turn on the computer once we are 10,000 feet above ground, etc. makes the thought of reading on my computer an unpleasant one. I would prefer to carry a lightweight book that transports easily and does not require any additional electronic resources. Also, point nine is an excellent argument and should legitimize this argument any day. History is important for the future and using online sources created in the 1990s cannot be trusted to accurately portray historical information. Furthermore, topic three is a very scary realistic feature of the Internet. There are suicide assistance websites out there!!! That should wake up any parent whose child is surfing the web. Anybody who questions the importance of libraries should read this article.
Mark Y. Herring
3/10/08
http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/10reasonswhy.cfm
A lot of people are beginning to think that the Internet is replacing libraries; however, this article attempts to remind people of the services that a library offers that the Internet cannot offer. It is a well known fact that reading test scores among school children nationwide are below ideal levels and with the introduction of the Internet to our everyday lives this will only build upon the current problem and making it worse in the future. While the Internet does have its place, it does lack the following qualities.
1. Not everything is on the Internet. There are over one billion web pages which may seem like a lot of information as it is, but the quality is lacking immensely. Only about 8% of all journals are on the web and even fewer books. These journals cost enormous amounts of money to acquire and will likely never be available on the web.
2. The Needle in the Haystack. The article states that “the Internet is like a vast uncatalogued library”. Search engines have a particular index encrypted into their design. So while you think that Google may have all the answers you need, Yahoo might have a website that is perfect for your search but you may not have thought to look there. More importantly, this information that can be found on the web is likely to be out of date and irrelevant to current issues.
3. Quality control doesn’t exist. Anyone has access to post information on the web. (Enough said in my opinion.) There is probably more "garbage" than worthwhile material on the web. A sixth grader can learn how to build a bomb in his kitchen just be clicking a few buttons. ..scary.
4. What you don’t know really does hurt you. Journals can be published online but often you find isn’t complete. Full text articles are rare and tables, charts and graphs may be missing or distorted.
5. States can now buy one book and distribute to every library on the web-NOT! Luckily, vendors who deliver e-books only allow one digitized copy per library. So if someone checks out the online book, someone else can’t check it out until it is returned. This maintains the integrity of the book and the copyright that comes along with it.
6. You Forgot about E-book Readers. The Amazon Kindle is a great idea in theory. But when actually used for reading books, many people suffer from eye-strain and headaches. Most people prefer to read from a physical book than read online or from a screen.
7. Aren’t there library-less universities now? The most recently build university in California began its operations without a library and soon they found themselves buying books in the tens of thousands because the Internet does not have all the answers!
8. What about a virtual state library? The costs associated with digitized all the printed material written is ridiculously high and would bankrupt a state. A figure given in the article states that in order to virtualize a medium-sized library of 400,000 volumes would cost ONE TRILLION DOLLARS! A few consequences to think about are what do you do with all the material after it has been digitized, throw it away? What do you do if the power goes out? Very legitimate points, in my opinion.
9. The Internet: A mile wide, an inch deep. Not much information on the Internet is over 15 years old! A very good point as to why libraries are so important. How can you do a proper research paper on a history topic when the information you find online is only from 1993?!?
10. The Internet is ubiquitous but books are portable. In a recent survey done of those who like to buy electronic books online, more than 80% said they like buying paper books over the Internet. Books will never disappear because of the relaxation and escape that they offer to readers. You can’t escape with a computer sitting on your lap while curled up next to the fire; it is better accomplished with a simple paper book.
I think this article is really interesting and does a great job highlighting the assets of libraries. Some of the points I found most striking was number ten. I travel a lot and lugging a laptop around with me, worrying about the battery running low, finding an outlet, waiting to turn on the computer once we are 10,000 feet above ground, etc. makes the thought of reading on my computer an unpleasant one. I would prefer to carry a lightweight book that transports easily and does not require any additional electronic resources. Also, point nine is an excellent argument and should legitimize this argument any day. History is important for the future and using online sources created in the 1990s cannot be trusted to accurately portray historical information. Furthermore, topic three is a very scary realistic feature of the Internet. There are suicide assistance websites out there!!! That should wake up any parent whose child is surfing the web. Anybody who questions the importance of libraries should read this article.
News Report #4
“Nebraska Auditor cries foul on gaming in libraries”
American Libraries
3/10/09
http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/february2009/nebrgamingaudit.cfm?persistent=&expy_dt=
The Nebraska Library Commission decided over a year ago that they would purchase games such as Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution which led to an audit of public accounts. Mike Foley, the auditor, stated that “the purchase of gaming equipment is a questionable use of public funds”. He further stated that using these games in State facilities on state time seemed inappropriate. The audit came after a concerned taxpayer saw the original announcement of the purchases. They spent about $600 on Play station and games, second life real estate and Flickr account memberships. The library commission director, Rod Wagner, stated that “these technologies are becoming more common in use and represent new, innovative, and effective ways to communicate, inform and educate.” The NLC, Nebraska Library Commission, proposed to use this one-time purchase to train members in the Nebraska community on integrating these games into their programming. This purchase game about because librarians were bringing their own gaming systems into the library and asking questions. The library commission decided then that it would purchase the games and make training available to all those interested. The Scottsbluff Public Library recently received a grant to buy the Wii gaming software and will begin using it in its summer “Be Creative @ your library” summer program.
This is an interesting argument and one of which I am not decided yet. When the idea of a mega-computer lab in our library was announced, I immediately thought and still think it’s a bad idea for 3 main reasons. First, I don’t think it will get used as much as people think. If you own these games, and most college students do, they won’t want to play it on campus in the library when they can play in the comfort of their own home. Secondly, the campus in general is lacking study areas in my opinion. There are not enough desk and chair areas for students to do individual or group studying. Creating this mega lab will take away a huge portion of the only studying section available on campus. Lastly, I do feel that buying gaming equipment with state funds could be deemed inappropriate. While I do think the funds should be on new and innovative technology, spending money on updating computers for example would be money better spent than the money on video games. We are in college to get an education, not to play video games. The only portion of this argument that I DO agree with is libraries need to start the move towards more technology driven facilities. This could include things like online catalogs, new computers and hardware or updating the interiors to look more modern. Without some action, libraries will remain in the “horse and buggy era” but those actions should be made cautiously and with the correct intent and purposes.
American Libraries
3/10/09
http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/february2009/nebrgamingaudit.cfm?persistent=&expy_dt=
The Nebraska Library Commission decided over a year ago that they would purchase games such as Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution which led to an audit of public accounts. Mike Foley, the auditor, stated that “the purchase of gaming equipment is a questionable use of public funds”. He further stated that using these games in State facilities on state time seemed inappropriate. The audit came after a concerned taxpayer saw the original announcement of the purchases. They spent about $600 on Play station and games, second life real estate and Flickr account memberships. The library commission director, Rod Wagner, stated that “these technologies are becoming more common in use and represent new, innovative, and effective ways to communicate, inform and educate.” The NLC, Nebraska Library Commission, proposed to use this one-time purchase to train members in the Nebraska community on integrating these games into their programming. This purchase game about because librarians were bringing their own gaming systems into the library and asking questions. The library commission decided then that it would purchase the games and make training available to all those interested. The Scottsbluff Public Library recently received a grant to buy the Wii gaming software and will begin using it in its summer “Be Creative @ your library” summer program.
This is an interesting argument and one of which I am not decided yet. When the idea of a mega-computer lab in our library was announced, I immediately thought and still think it’s a bad idea for 3 main reasons. First, I don’t think it will get used as much as people think. If you own these games, and most college students do, they won’t want to play it on campus in the library when they can play in the comfort of their own home. Secondly, the campus in general is lacking study areas in my opinion. There are not enough desk and chair areas for students to do individual or group studying. Creating this mega lab will take away a huge portion of the only studying section available on campus. Lastly, I do feel that buying gaming equipment with state funds could be deemed inappropriate. While I do think the funds should be on new and innovative technology, spending money on updating computers for example would be money better spent than the money on video games. We are in college to get an education, not to play video games. The only portion of this argument that I DO agree with is libraries need to start the move towards more technology driven facilities. This could include things like online catalogs, new computers and hardware or updating the interiors to look more modern. Without some action, libraries will remain in the “horse and buggy era” but those actions should be made cautiously and with the correct intent and purposes.
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