I had a conversation today with a colleague who is exploring some ideas for a scholarly article on library Web sites. We both agree that one of the purposes of a library's Web site is to connect users to the information they want in as seamless a manner as possible--something library Web sites don't always do very well. My colleague said that though some people don't want to hear it, the [academic] library Web site is more important now than the [academic] library building. I smiled and said, "Well, as important."
A few hours later, I read the Feel-good Librarian's guest post at Tame the Web, in which she relates an experience where a library user got what he needed by coming into the library building and talking to a person. Some may argue that the library user at the Feel-good Librarian's library didn't have a need that could only be met by a library, but it was met nonetheless. There are many reasons why I think the library Web site will never be more important than the library building, and the Feel-good Librarian succinctly identified one of those reasons: "Some days, it's just not about the machine."
1 comment:
I suppose that web-based info is more meaningful than to those of us who grew up without wireless anything, including TV until we were well past the age we started to read. I will probably never make my thumbs text message.
I find electronic stuff good for a couple of pages, a point, a thought, a specific piece of something, but lacking in terms of a total view. When you can't remember what day it is, it is nice to have a "reference" at hand, and a book, a solid, dense, many paged, treatise on the subject will beat a couple of pages printed on your inkjet any time. I think of my first sighting of Hugh Nibley (I think I just shed my anonymity) sitting on the floor between stacks with note cards spread all over the place: There is a place where the electronic era can provide big gains. But, for just pure, all around, make it through life at a level higher than the dog, understanding and the basis for contemplating everything from your navel to the definition of infinity, there ain't nuttin like a book!
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