When a Search Engine Isn't Enough, Call a Librarian

For generations, reference librarians have been known as the source for answers to perplexing questions on almost any subject. In recent years libraries found other means for answering questions, offering reference services over the telephone, by e-mail, and more recently, through 24-hour Internet chat services.

Still, with a widespread public expectation that answers can be found almost instantly by typing a few words into an Internet search engine, librarians increasingly find themselves on the sidelines in the question-answering business. So they are slowly warming to the idea that they must educate the public about ways to sort through the mountain of available information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/05/technology/circuits/05libr.html
(New York Times, February 5, 2004)

Posted by Tom on February 09, 2004