[LM_NET] HIT: print vs. electronic

[Harry Willems <hwillems@SEKLS.ORG>]

Well, I delivered my missives to the class at parsons HS.  I think I made 
some headways, but with students that have no foot in the print world, or 
maybe a just a pinky, most of my reasons were not too robust.  My 
assignment was to talk to students, seniors, about why print resources 
still matter.  I'm afraid that the technology is getting close to meeting 
us half way  in a lot of instances.  At the end of this hit, I'll post the 
questions that I used.  My best material was explaining the term 
"Luddite"  the origins of Ned Ludd.  Here is the hit:

Print sources leave paper trails.  You can find the sources and know
who said what, what the qualifications are of the source, and verify
the facts through the bibliography.  Print sources save trees in that
you are using the source, not printing out x number of copies from the
Internet.  :)  Good luck!

--------------------

Print sources are EDITED and those in a library are reviewed and selected by
professionals.  Any one can post anything on a web site.  How good is
student at ensuring only valid web sties are used?  They become the person
responsible for verifying the information instead of the editor.

Colleges require use of print sources so students must learn to be adept at
finding printed information.

------------------

It's kind of like the President standing up before the American people and
telling us why we should "stay the course," isn't it?

It sort of depends on your philosophical orientation whether or not you buy his
arguments.

In regards to print resources, if you believe that some kinds of 
information are
(or should be) "permanent," then you have grounds for defending print 
resources,
which are tangible, accessible by most people, and, well, solid. This, 
according
to one worldview, speaks to their authoritativeness.

Since large companies (or government entities) generate the majority of print
resources, the common view is that they are going to be especially careful in
vetting the information and ensuring its accuracy and longevity. Electronic
resources are ephemeral, easily changed, and therefore are less potentially
authoritative.

And there is the argument about access. There's still a large part of the world
that isn't wired, and print resources are readily available without electricity
or an ethernet connection.

On the other hand, and for people who don't necessarily subscribe to this point
of view (myself included), print resources are wasteful, instantly dated, and
limited by their very nature.

I don't envy you your task. I hope this helps a little. Good luck with your
presentation.

-----------------------

  -we are publishing more in print than at any other time in our
history
  -many things are only available in print, especially when someone is
trying to make a living out of their intellectual property.

-------------------


I talk a little about this to my freshman comp classes when I require the 
students to write an annotated bibliography for their research papers. I 
require 5 books, 5 articles and 1 other source according to APA, MLA or 
Turabian, with a 3-5 sentence annotation for each entry. They can use 
audiobooks, ebooks, etc. as well as articles from databases (as opposed to 
websites).



I tell them that books and journal articles are often preferable resources 
because they are edited by scholars or in the case of articles they are 
often juried. I tell them print resources typically contain more detail 
than electronic resources, unless they are electronic full-text versions of 
the print books or journals. I define the difference between databases like 
Infotrac and websites, and have them examine the reliability of both.



For high school students, it would be valuable to warn them that they might 
run into college professors who say “No net.” I know of two here at 
Washburn that will not allow Internet resources for research, and I’ve 
heard of others at KU and K-State (Go State tomorrow!). It will also be 
important for them to be aware that some of the most authoritative 
resources or reference materials in some fields are still not online or not 
totally online, depending upon what they plan to major in, something I’ve 
discovered because I teach some general emphasis classes. And I am no 
longer amazed­as I used to be­that freshman entering college believe if 
they find it on the Internet it has to be true and that they have not been 
taught the use of basic library skills or materials. This week, in addition 
to spending a delightful day in SEKLS, I’ve been having conferences with 
two freshman comp classes, and several have NEVER done a research paper 
using anything except two or three Internet sites. Hard to believe, I know, 
but it’s true.

---------------------

1.  What do I do when I don’t have access to a computer?

2.  Do electronic resources last as long as print resources?

3.  Reading in context, what surrounds your article etc?
  where is the article placed, what other articles on the page?  How is 
this a clue to the editors intent (newspapers)
4.  What is the serendipity factor?
  4 and 5 similar.  Dewey put like things together for a reason.
5.  What does cataloging have to do with it?

6.  What’s the difference between an online primary source and having the 
source in your hand?
  is a picture of a 1799 penny that George Washington may have held, as 
good as an actual 1799 penny you can hold in your hand?
7.  Is all the information that you’ll ever need in electronic format?
  Much published that is not digitized
8.  How do you read best-sellers?
  Not digitized as long as best-sellers
9.  Using only online sources most always means that we have not done the 
best information search?
  We tend to get lazy, taking the quickest way instead of actually going to 
the library
10.  What does authority control have to do with it?
  Costs money to publish in print format - sort of a filter for bad information
11.  Where does one find the best help finding information?
  the librarian
12.  Am I a competent searcher?  Do I get a few relevant hits, or am I 
deluged with millions of irrelevant websites?
  what is the deep web, how can it be searched for more relevant 
information?  What's wrong with a key word Google search?  Is 10 million 
hits too many?
13.  Are you an A student or a C student?
  Often times, A students will go the extra mile.
14.  How do I find out about what terms to search?
  try print resources to provide relevant search terms
15.  Some college professors do not allow Internet resources period?
  the Luddites
16.  How can one tell that Internet resources have been edited by 
experts/scholars or juried?
  how does a student prove validity of a website, do they take the time to 
even try?
17.  Which is more complete, Internet information or print information?
Often times print resources provide more complete information


Harry Willems, consultant
Southeast Kansas Library System

Harry Willems, Consultant Asst. Dir.            620.365.5136
Southeast Kansas Library System         620.365.5137 (fax)
Iola, KS  66749                         hwillems@sekls.org

42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------