On Source Reliablity.
Wednesday, March 7th, 2007This issue is related to libraries, and specifically, the future of library relevance/services…
A fellow NJ librarian, The Rock and Roll Librarian, posted a link on his blog a few weeks ago about the future of libraries. Now, while we both share the same opinion, that opinion being “libraries will continue to be relevant in the digital age,” I have to disagree with the article he linked to. Most of those 33 reasons he linked to are neo-luddite: what happens when the internet is free? What happens when all information can be found online? etc. etc. etc.
I think that as the access to information increases, the need for context will increase as well. Librarians as ‘information brokers’ will be more important as access to information increases. And libraries are not just about information: we are publicly-owned physical spaces, which will always be necessary. Sure, you can hang out at the mall, or the bookstore, or the tables at McD’s, but those places are all owned by someone (who is usually trying to sell you something). The library is owned by us, the public, and libraries give most of their services away for free.
Back to the information issue, as a librarian with an advanced degree in information science, I would like to tell you that Wikipedia isn’t as unreliable as people have you believe: It is as comparably reliable as Encyclopedia Britannica, the information moves faster than Encyclopedia Britannica, and the future is only bright for Wikipedia.
But as a librarian would have told you 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, I will tell you today: Never rely on just one source for information.
If you chose to use Wikipedia, there are many other sources that are offered free to NJ residents. We have JerseyClicks, which is a search engine that can be used by NJ Library Card holders which links to many databases. If Wikipedia is a ’store’, JerseyClicks is a ‘mall’, offering results from many databases with one search. Jersey Clicks makes it very easy for anyone looking for multiple sources on a subject: it gives results from newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, books, and transcripts. There is also Q&ANJ, which is a free, 24-hour chat room that is staffed only by Master’s Degree educated librarians who can find you sources (probably) quicker than you could yourself.
Hope you enjoyed the post! And don’t forget, if you ever need anything, you can email one of our reference librarians (who will respond to your email free of charge). reference@bellepl.org
