Wired for Communication: The Library in the Sky

WIRED FOR COMMUNICATION

Wired for Communication

The Library in the Sky

“Funny how something that used to be such a commonplace part of research now seems like a special occasion” (Romans, 2011, para. 2). So says a veteran scholar regarding a trip to the library, something he made a pact with himself to do at least once a week in order to supplement his mostly online research with older but important literature.

Wandering the stacks at the library does have a certain romantic feel to it. But is it practical? The digitizing of books, newspapers, and journals has effectively removed the walls between centuries of content and end users. If, for example, you want to write an informative speech on the history of your hometown, you could quickly enter the name of your town into any number of digital archives and access a wealth of news articles and literary references to it in major newspapers dating back several centuries (The New York Times digital archive, for example, goes back to 1851). You might find stunning photos of your town from the Associated Press or Corbis photo archives (you can search them for free). The Library of Congress Archive has an ever-growing online collection, where you might find photos, posters, letters, and artifacts. And you’ll be able to search through more books than any brick-and-mortar library could possibly hold, thanks to a somewhat controversial project started by Google.

The Google Books Library Project, which aims to “make it easier for people to find relevant books—specifically, books they wouldn’t find any other way such as those that are out of print,” offers searchable digital scans of millions of books through partnerships with major public and university libraries around the world (https://www.google.com/googlebooks/library/). For books in copyright, Google will provide links to sources you can purchase them from, as well as libraries from which you can borrow. Books no longer in copyright (most books more than ninety years old are in the public domain) can be viewed in full; you even can download a pdf of the entire book. So if a writer stumbled through your town on the way to the California gold rush in 1849 and wrote about it in a novel, a poem, or work of nonfiction, you can find out what he or she thought about it.

Google Books remains somewhat controversial: a class-action lawsuit on behalf of copyright holders, in fact, is pending (Bosman, 2013). But for researchers—or anyone who is just a little intellectually curious, really—there is no denying that the ability to access primary sources quickly, from anywhere, and often for free opens new doors of discovery and allows even the most casual Web surfer to stumble onto texts that were out of reach, or perhaps just languishing unnoticed on library shelves, for decades.

It is interesting to note, however, that old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar libraries, although undergoing tremendous changes in terms of the way they house and deliver information, remain a crucial link in offering access to all kinds of intellectual property. A recent survey by Pew Research revealed that even as they embrace new technologies, Americans still look to public libraries for their casual reading and information needs. More than three-quarters of those surveyed felt that library services like book lending, reference librarians, and access to computers and the Internet were “very important.” It seems that, even as armchair research becomes the norm, we still love that feeling of wandering the stacks.

Think About This

  1. Primary sources are of particular importance to historians, who rely on firsthand accounts of events and phenomena to gain understanding of a particular period. What kinds of primary sources would be helpful when researching your hometown’s history? How might they be used in a speech?

    Question

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    Primary sources are of particular importance to historians, who rely on firsthand accounts of events and phenomena to gain understanding of a particular period. What kinds of primary sources would be helpful when researching your hometown’s history? How might they be used in a speech?
  2. Some see the digitizing of content as great way to level the intellectual playing field. But how level is it? Google Books is free, but many archives are not, and many Americans still don’t have access to the Internet at home. How can access be further democratized? Should it be?

    Question

    46O/GvlXlao=
    Some see the digitizing of content as great way to level the intellectual playing field. But how level is it? Google Books is free, but many archives are not, and many Americans still don’t have access to the Internet at home. How can access be further democratized? Should it be?
  3. With so much information going digital, what is your opinion on the role of brick-and-mortar libraries today? Do you think they are more important or less important than they once were? What kind of help can librarians provide?

    Question

    46O/GvlXlao=
    With so much information going digital, what is your opinion on the role of brick-and-mortar libraries today? Do you think they are more important or less important than they once were? What kind of help can librarians provide?