DUSTY ENCYCLOPEDIAS Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 11, March 14, 2004, Article 26
DUSTY ENCYCLOPEDIAS
On March 8, an Associated Press story outlined the plight
of printed encyclopedias in the online media age:"These are lonely days for encyclopedias.
At libraries, the volumes sit ignored for days on end as
information-seeking patrons tap busily away at nearby
computers.""In the Internet age, encyclopedias are gathering dust, and
most families with young children don't even consider buying
the space-hogging printed sets anymore. Even digital versions
struggle for attention.Michael Gray's home computer came pre-loaded with Microsoft
Corp.'s reference software, Encarta, but the seventh-grader
from Milpitas, Calif., has never used it. He prefers doing
research online, where information from a vast array of sources
comes quickly and, for the most part, for free.Like many students, his first Internet stop is Google.
"I find information really fast," Gray says, smiling proudly.
"Within five to 10 minutes, I find a good (Web) site to work
from.""Students all want to use the Internet, librarians say, though
younger ones sometimes get lost in the sea of information on
the World Wide Web."Half of them want to jump on the computer and are not even
sure what they want to look up," said Sue Krumbein, a middle
school librarian in Menlo Park, Calif. Krumbein's rule: Students
first must complete book-based research to narrow their
questions before surfing the Web."To read the full article, se: Full Article
- 2004-03-14
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