I came across this article by way of Library Link of the Day. It’s a good read from a student who admits his love of technology, but also acknowledges there are flaws and hidden dangers in his obsession. Like many student-authored articles I’ve read in college newspapers, when the topic of research comes up the library is the butt of a joke or its irrelevance is duly noted. This one is no exception:
“How did students do research without Google, Wikipedia and Lexis-Nexis? Are you telling me they used “books”? I guess that means they actually had to go to the library and have a proficient understanding of the Dewey Decimal system, two things any self-respecting student of the modern age avoids.”
About two weeks ago I started using INFORM.com on an experimental basis as part of my higher education “keeping up†regimen. I found that they have a nice college and university section under “Hot Channels”. In addition to providing articles from national and regional newspapers, it also provides content from college newspapers. The stories from the college papers offer some genuine insight into the latest issues brewing in higher education, but it’s also a good way to come across student opinions and the occasional article about the state of research for college students. It would be a shame to miss out on many of these articles.
At my institution, Philadelphia University, we have no regular student newspaper. As a mostly professional/career-oriented institution, we lack a cadre of aspiring writers and journalists. There is talk of trying to get at least a weekly student-run campus paper established. I hope those of you who have the luxury of being a member of a campus community that offers a student newspaper take some time to appreciate its availability.
I read that piece too, thanks to the same source. Given it was about the annoyances and of technology (obnoxious computerized church bells frame the piece) and the way it is trivilaizing life I took the line about research and libraries as being entirely tongue in cheek. Putting “books” in quotes is a typographic raised eye with a slight smirk move. Nudge nudge, wink wink. I think people who assume Those Students Today never read a book or go into a library are the butts of this joke.
We have a student paper. This fall the library was featured twice as a great place to procrastinate, using the Browsing Collection (current and popular books) and the AV collection. As a student who minored in procratstination by way of goofing around in libraries, reading things that weren’t assigned, I was pleased.