On-line Libraries!! (Tanya Winter)

ON-LINE LIBRARIES!!

I think one of the coolest ways to use the Internet is to take advantage of the on-line libraries.  On-line libraries are free or you can pay to join certain libraries perhaps for your kindle.  Either way, the books, publications, literature, journals, magazines, newspapers, or whatever other type of works you may be looking for are endless!  Forget about getting in your car and driving to library every time you need a piece of information.  The internet is perhaps the fastest way an individual can look up information!I love on-line libraries and the reason is that I am a mother of two children with a very busy husband. I have taken my children to the Library and unfortunately with two under the age of four the experience is usually not a pleasant one.  I love to read depending on my mood. On-line libraries let me look up whatever I want, read, and I can shut it off with no late-fines!

Using the on-line Library in the classroom is fast and efficient.  The world and knowledge is at your fingertips.  Research is available in any available form be it a magazine, newspaper, journal, or a book!  Back in my day we had to use “The Dewey Decimal System” and the “Card Catalog” to look up and find anything! Anymore, it is a simple five second search!

Little kids love it as well.  My little boy loves to look up anything related to dinosaurs, trains, or sharks.  He is only three and already knows how to do research with mamas help.  The World is at his little fingertips!

Probably all of us have had to write an essay or research paper with the option to use the internet if done properly.  When I say properly, I mean using the internet to find credible sources to include in such papers.  Simply doing a “Google” search and finding different articles and reports posted by anybody usually will not cut it for a research paper. You must have a credible source.  Utilizing on-line libraries is a great way to do your research! 

How to determine what is credible:

Note this blurb from the Owl Perdue On-line Writing Lab found at:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/01/

Evaluating Sources: Overview

Summary: Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources.

Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2010-04-17 06:12:15

The world is full of information to be found--however, not all of it is valid, useful, or accurate. Evaluating sources of information that you are considering using in your writing is an important step in any research activity.
The quantity of information available is so staggering that we cannot know everything about a subject. For example, it's estimated that anyone attempting to research what's known about depression would have to read over 100,000 studies on the subject. And there's the problem of trying to decide which studies have produced reliable results.
Similarly, for information on other topics, not only is there a huge quantity available but a very uneven level of quality. You don't want to rely on the news in the headlines of sensational tabloids near supermarket checkout counters, and it's just as hard to know how much to accept of what's in all the books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, journals, brochures, web sites, and various media reports that are available. People want to convince you to buy their products, agree with their opinions, rely on their data, vote for their candidate, consider their perspective, or accept them as experts. In short, you have to sift and make decisions all the time, and you want to make responsible choices that you won't regret.
Evaluating sources is an important skill. It's been called an art as well as work--much of which is detective work. You have to decide where to look, what clues to search for, and what to accept. You may be overwhelmed with too much information or too little. The temptation is to accept whatever you find. But don't be tempted. Learning how to evaluate effectively is a skill you need both for your course papers and your life.
When writing research papers, you will also be evaluating sources as you search for information. You will need to make decisions about what to search for, where to look, and once you've found material on your topic, if it is a valid or useful source for your writing.

Just a few on-line libraries for you to check out:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/

http://www.literature.org/

http://www.ipl.org/

And of course don’t forget our very own Concordia on-line Library!!