Fool’s Gold

This work skeptically explores the notion that the internet will soon obviate any need for traditional print-based academic libraries. It makes a case for the library’s staying power in the face of technological advancements (television, microfilm, and CD-ROM’s were all once predicted as the contemporary library’s heir-apparent), and devotes individual chapters to the pitfalls and prevarications of popular search engines, e-books, and the mass digitization of traditional print material.

Mark Y. Herring is the dean of library services at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina. His work has appeared in American Libraries and Library Journal and many other publications.

Mark Y. Herring
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 199
Bibliographic Info: notes, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3082-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5393-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Introduction      9

1. Caught in the Web      25

2. Forget the Needle. Can You Just Tell Me Which Haystack?      45

3. Weare18.com      55

4. Footnotes? Who Needs Them!      74

5. Google Über Alles      87

6. E-books to the Rescue!      103

7. The Paperless Revolution Is Complete!      118

8. A Mile Wide and a Mind-Numbing Inch Deep      131

9. The Endgame: Quo Vadis?      149

Chapter Notes      167

Index      189

“takes a critical look at the assumptions and the hype…not a Ludditerant but rather a reasoned discussion of the tangible benefits a library can provide…a reminder of the teaching function of libraries, and not just their technological function”—Booklist; “opens a larger discussion about the quality of knowledge that can be gained in a library versus what may seem a random collection of information found online…explicates the issues that surround both the betterment and the drawbacks provided by the Web in library services…valuable”—Against the Grain; “recommended”—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter; “thorough”—Technicalities; “many of us have our doubts about the wholesale embrace of the internet as people’s primary source of information…Herring is one of the brave few who isn’t afraid to speak his mind”—American Libraries; “takes on the presumption that the Internet can do everything and, therefore that libraries and books are no longer needed”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly; “presented in a conversational, informal tone…makes the case that the Internet is a fine accessory to libraries but not an ersatz library in and of itself”—C&RL News; “Herring is no Luddite, nor is he opposed to technology. But he feels strongly that the Internet is giving students a false sense of confidence”—Charlotte Observer; “copyright laws and controversies, American K-12 reading methods, and current library development policies are discussed in detail”—Reference & Research Book News; “makes a case for the continued need for traditional libraries”—www.heraldonline.com.