Perhaps adding some perspective to the issue of library-related
resources and finding aids vs. new Internet resources and tools is the
latest PEW study
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp
which shows that Internet-savvy Generation Y users (age 18-30) are the
largest group of library users-a finding that challenges the assumption
that libraries are losing relevance in the Internet age.
As for thinking about the role of libraries (and archives), the
following article about Canadian archives and the concern about the
"lost decades" of electronic information shows that we need to keep in
mind that finding aids are only useful in so far that the resources they
point to are collected, processed, stored, organized, and made
accessible-the age-old task of libraries and archives that one might
think would be alleviated with advanced technology, but perhaps with
every advance there are new problems.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=758def11-7336-4
fa8-9acf-61afd87adfbd&k=28075
Thomas Brenndorfer, B.A, M.L.I.S.
Guelph Public Library
100 Norfolk St.
Guelph, ON
N1H 4J6
(519) 824-6220 ext. 276
tbrenndorfer_at_library.guelph.on.ca
Received on Mon Jan 07 2008 - 12:12:00 EST