internet not a library

[Adrian Walker <adrianw@IX.NETCOM.COM>]

We hear some chat, perhaps facetious, that internet will be the library of
the future.
>Well, folks, we all know the internet is not like a library.
>A library contains information that has been selected because it meets
>certain standards of authority, accuracy, and quality.  The internet has
>whatever anybody and everybody posts on it.
>
> A library is a place where information is retrievable because it is stored
>according to an organization scheme. Yahoo, Harvest and the like may give
>some order, but they don't check the credentials of the information
>providers. Gophers may help with the search, but they will not teach users
>effective search strategies, nor help users to develop critical thinking
skills.
>
> Has anyone ever read a selection policy or a mission statement for the
>internet?  Does anyone weed its holdings?  Are users entitled to legally
>protected confidentiality when they use the material?
>
>Dave Loertscher spoke today (11/3) at the Connecticut Educational Media Assn.
>conference, and mentioned some place where kids were being given internet
>access instead of library resources.  He mentioned comparative costs:  what
>does one month of AOL cost per household?  (My connection requires a
>long-distance phone call, so just that costs me upwards of $60/month!) Dave
>asked, what if that money went to a LMC or a Public Library?
>
>Does having a room full of books make kids (or anyone, for that
>matter)educated?  Does having internet access make anyone information
>literate?  Will the world be a better place if every state, city, school and
>classroom has a home page?
>
>In enthusiasm for this new form of fire, let's not let the cretins burn down
>the house.
>
>Barbara Walker
>adrianw@ix.netcom.com
>
>
>