As technology advances, it makes it easier for us to access the resources on web rather than the printed resources. Many people think “since everything is on the internet, I don’t need books… right?” and many of us might agree with that. However, there’s a misconception. Not every printed book, journal, or other printed resource can be found on the internet so we have to obtain a printed copy of the source in order to use it. For some people, the online resource might not be as easy to access as printed sources. There are some people who love to read for entertainment. The book lovers might rely mostly on printed sources than web sources because they have used printed sources all their lives and they are used to it. For example in most educational institutions printed copies of sources are used and not all those printed copies such as text books can be found online. It’s also easier to check out a book from a library and use it as your resource because most of the information like the publisher, editor, year of publication, and etc can be found easily on the back or front page of the book. If you access an online resource that doesn’t have the publisher’s name or the editor and you use the website but don’t cite the names in your paper, that might be considered plagiarism and result in failing the class you are using the resource for. Online resources might be easy to access but they are not as accurate as printed sources.
Somayah,
ReplyDeleteYou listed some very good reasons as to why print books are still important. I will say, though, not all online resources are inaccurate. Just like you need to evaluate your print resources and only use the reputable ones, the same goes for electronic resources. Luckily, publishers are releasing more of their content in other formats so the users can access the material in whichever way they choose. Did you know that 98% of the money that the Health Sciences Library spends on material goes to electronic resources? For our users, they want it fast and they don't want to come to the library to access it. The needs of our users are quite unique, though.
Keep up the good work!
Julie Silverman
Head of Collection Management
Univ. of Colorado Health Sciences Library
Anschutz Medical Campus
Thanks for sharing the information. Surely it's great to publish notes online than in a library because it's more convenient and easily accessible.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Somayah