December 7, 2006

There's more to life than a Google search

Posted by Jami Schwarzwalder at 4:53PM

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Info Island

Hi. I am a 23-year-old librarian. No, I do not wear a bun, but I do have cat glasses. I grew up reading books, watching movies, and playing video games. I am no different from you, only my skills are about finding information. I am a recent graduate with my Masters in Library Science.

When was the last time you went to the library? Was it to get research for a school assignment you didn't really want to do? What is it that you think of when you think of a library? Is it walls of dusty books? Rows of computers? How do you imagine I look? Maybe short, female, and mean?

Well, today I am starting to blog on WireTap, and I want to remind you about libraries, not because I just spent money on a degree to be certified, but because I believe in them. There's much more to the world than a google search. You can IM a librarian right now and find out the shortest way to the best, most direct information that you need.

A library is a collection of information and a resource for a community. Librarians are more than just individuals that sit behind a desk, they are trained to help you. If you IM or call your local librarian they will answer your questions, and help you learn how to find information yourself. The best thing about librarians is that they know where to look to find information you may not even know is there. The secret is that they use all the resources they can to help you including books, journals, websites in addition to Google and Wikipedia, And that's better than an internet search. And they know which resource or search engines are best to use for each type of information you are seeking.

Right now things are changing in the library world. There are new individuals -- like me -- that are using the tools we grew up with -- video games, IM, email, and downloads -- to try to help us. They want to be available when you are working on your research paper, and want to be a friend on your buddy list.

To see some examples of libraries and the things they are doing check out: Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg who has a digital studio and other resources, or Info Island a library that exists in the virtual environment.

I'll be back next Thursday to chat about the Online Predators Act that's coming up for a vote in congress...