Research. It comes with being a student. Whether you are researching a topic for a short essay, a final paper, your thesis, or your own interest, you will accumulate information. Links in one class could be useful in another class, or in another “bucket” of related information.
Instead of amassing an unsorted bookmark list or a pile of mystery folders, think about embracing your inner librarian and start to curate your materials. While this might not sound exciting, it’s not difficult and will become useful to you through your academic career and beyond.
Is it pouring outside? Is there a foot of snow on the ground? Did the local branch shutter because of the economy? Do you live too far from the nearest library? Does your library not have the book you want?
These are just a few of the questions that come to mind when I think of the disadvantages of the traditional library system. While I have written about how libraries have been making a slow but steady shift from stacks to servers over the past 15 years, one of the most promising advances I have come across recently is the idea of loaning ebooks.
Within one week I came across two articles, one by Mashable regarding Amazon’s ebook lending program and another by my high school (the article is not yet on their web site, so I will look to update this post with a link once it is available). Both articles illustrate the advancements in library accessibility that are coming of age thanks to the evolution of the internet and ebooks. This may bring new opportunities to rural communities and classrooms further democratizing literature. Only time, imagination and bandwidth will tell.
Online libraries are an incredible resource for students and lifelong learners alike. They range in sophistication from card catalog – type listings from small public libraries, to the virtually bottomless information from the Library of Congress, where you can download papers, photographs and other media. Read the full story
I had the pleasure of interviewing Fred Stielow, the Associate Vice President and Dean of Libraries and Educational Materials at American Public University System.
A lot of you may be the way I was at the beginning of my relationship with online education, and may have the same questions about online libraries… What’s an Online Library? Why would I need it when there’s one down the street?
Fred’s got ya covered. Check out our newest podcast, and let me know what you think!
Where Do I Put All This Stuff?
