internet versus library

Great qeustion! When my grown kids were younger we had purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias, the whole set. We utilized them on a regular basis. When my oldest learned to read, he would ask a question, if I couldn't answer it I would reply "look it up in the encyclopedia". Now I have a 13 year old and a 5 year old, when my 13 yr old asks me questions I cannot answer, my reply is "look it up on the internet". There are some sites I'm sure that do not have reliable information, but for the most part any question anyone in my family has about ANYTHING can be answered from our living room with out taking a trip into town and searching at the local library. The library is a good place for newspaper archives and to check out books of interest, many people still read. However I was just told last week that the dewey decimal system is being phased out.

Hello Calyxus, Way back the time I am still studying in college, I seldom go to library. I prefer to go directly to cafe when I have projects or assignments. That is because our library is located on top of the hill. It makes my feet swell going up, with high heeled shoes. It is not only location that made me visit library on rare cases, it is also because cafe is much more convenient, it would not eat your time looking on books by section, what you will do is sit, open an internet browser, type the keywords of what you are looking for and on the results choose which you think is best. Then read, or you can also have it printed. One disadvantage of using the cafe, is it could be expensive. While in the school library, it is free, you can choose to stay the whole day inside without worrying expenses. You can even borrow books for free, to some with very small fee. That is why, when I have no money, I prefer to stay in the library, that is to borrow books. I hate staying inside the library, I feel bored and made me sleepy.

I rather like going through books to find the information I need for a paper or whatever I am writing. I think the internet doesn't have ALL the information that books can have. SO I like to use both, but most of my info comes from books, that way my professors see I took the time to search books by hand instead of letting hte net do it.

Since I'm no longer in a position where I need to do in-depth research about anything, I just use the net for whatever quick info that I would need. As long as you take the time to verify the sources of online information, I guess you can be relatively safe. Still, if I'm doing something important like an academic thesis or something, I will probably start hitting the books. I'll probably used the net as a springboard to get lists of books, authors, etc, and then start hunting the hard copies. But anything minor, like needing an address, an answer to a quick question, etc, I'll settle for the online research.

The internet isn't a substitute for books; it's a supplement to them. I would never give up reading books, especially if I want to go very deeply into a subject. Many subjects have the basic information about them on the internet, but not enough, depending on what you need. I use the net every day, looking for information, and learning new things, but I still depend mostly on books. I really don't know what "old and dusty" has to do with anything. Some of the most valuable information is in books that are very old. Just because something is newer, that doesn't necessarily make it better.

For me, I don't think it's really about reliability. Most of the time I can tell false information on the Internet from real, and I verify it sometimes just to make sure. However, I still prefer books. I find them more personal; the fact that you can hold the information, flip the pages and see it visually is something I really, really, like. Like on websites, you have the knowledge right there and it's in front of you, but you aren't able to hold it on the Internet and look through it the same way you are in a book. The fact that they're old and dusty is something I actually like, as I know that other people have gone through it and it shows. I don't mind going through a pile of books to find the information I need either. Sure, this can get a little frustrating sometimes, but I think it's all worth it. ^_^