Libraries in the Digital Age

“In no other realm have the common practices of both users and librarians changed more than in how we seek information” (Terrell 55). 

Last October the card catalog officially became a thing of the past. Smithonsian.com reported that the company that printed the cards for card catalogs had stopped producing them. Future generations might have to have a certain Ghostbusters scene explained to them. (see pictures 8 and 9 http://pyxurz.blogspot.com/2015/05/ghostbusters-page-1-of-9.html)

Patrons have come to expect 24/7 access to online reference material and are less often found using print references within libraries. Now reference librarians are making use of chat, IM, and email to help patrons. For one of my classes this semester I was able to make use of Ask-A-Librarian. Ask-A-Librarian is an online reference chat that is available on the Palomar Library website and other library websites. Through the Palomar website I was able to ask my reference question without leaving my desk, and the librarian who answered was in another state. She explained that the online reference desk was staffed by librarians around the world. The San Diego County Library provides Text a Librarian, a service offered by the La Mesa Library during its open hours. You can also email San Diego County librarians, and the county website has links to Twitter and Facebook as other ways to stay in touch.

“Digital technologies are transforming the nature of information and with it the research questions we ask, the ways we seek answers, and how we communicate results” (Hazen 195).

I am part of the last generation that had to write school reports looking at encyclopedias and using a card catalog. I would have loved to have had the access to information at my fingertips like today’s students. Back in my day we had to carry heavy encyclopedias to stuffy desks, uphill. But seriously, the ability to search for answers online and the wealth of information available now is pretty amazing to me. One of the concerns with online searching though is the quality of the information retrieved. It was pretty simple as a kid to grab the Encyclopedia Britannica and know that it was a trusted source. How do kids today know that what they are retrieving are reliable sources? Librarians still have a role in helping kids with their reference questions because it is important for us (along with teachers and parents) to teach students how to interpret and evaluate what they are finding.

Wayne Bivens-Tatum, Philosophy and Religion Librarian at Princeton, has written an excellent article on why he sees a difference between teaching information literacy and helping students with scholarly research: https://blogs.princeton.edu/librarian/2011/04/the_myth_of_information_literacy/

For a more general look at how libraries have changed with the digital age is this great infographic: http://librarysciencedegree.usc.edu/resources/infographics/digital-librarian-ig/

Sources:

"The Card Catalog Is Officially Dead." Smithsonian. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Hazen, Dan. "Lost in The Cloud: Research Library Collections and Community in The Digital Age." Library Resources & Technical Services 55.4 (2011): 195-204. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Terrell, H. B. (2015). Reference is dead, long live reference: Electronic collections in the digital age. Information Technology and Libraries, 34(N4), 55-62. doi:10.6017/ital.v34i4.9098

Public domain images are from Pixabay.