The Internet hasn’t replaced a good reference book

Forty Third Post: The Internet hasn’t replaced a good reference book

Ever try to look something up on the web? Yes, there are search engines that are easy to use, but are they finding the information you are looking for. The Internet leads to information of a subject that must be pieced together. Sure sometimes the web surfer is lucky and finds what they are looking for within the first search page, but the more specific the search is the harder it is to find relative results. For example, searching for a social experiment by typing in a description of it will not necessarily find the experiment name, and typing in “sociology experiments” will lead to too broad of a search.

So how do we search. We still need the library. It has the Internet only to enhance its power. There are references and journals and librarians to help the search. Though the Internet will find quick facts and a broad search fast, sometimes a more intense research is required. And books are organized with an index and are dedicated to nothing but the subject, so it is easy to get an in-depth description. So the Internet hasn’t replaced books just yet. But it does help us find some good books.