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Libraries lately have had their hands full trying to compete with online resources. With its millions of pages filled with information of all kinds, the Internet become a major temptation for students as a source of research material. This is especially true for school-aged children needing to complete papers and assignments for school. However, because the veracity and accuracy of much of the information on the internet is suspect, the web is far from an ideal source of research material.

When kids start doing their research for school on the web, many of them head straight for Wikipedia. It's only natural to love a resource that's completely free to the general public. However, since the content on Wikipedia can be edited by any member of the site without attribution, there's no way to ensure that the information is correct.

However, there are still many excellent resources online with which libraries must contend. Google Books and Project Gutenberg offer access to many scholarly texts free of charge. As a result, many libraries have found that they must fight to compete with online resources. Many libraries have undergone a radical restructuring of the way they offer resources to patrons. Not the least of these is University of Texas at Austin, which recently removed 90,000 tomes from its undergraduate library, replacing them with easy chairs, computer workstations, and booths for groups of students, all in an environment that resembles an internet cafe more than a traditional library.

There is really no need for the internet to replace libraries altogether. Many libraries around the country are becoming internet-ready, putting many of their resources online for their patrons to use from the comfort of their own homes. I have accessed many of my local library's online services from my home over the last few months. These resources have expanded dramatically to include audio books of classic novels such as Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, poetry collections, Rosetta Stone language software, Books in Print, Overdrive Digital Books, NetLibrary which features many online ebooks including notes, Genealogy and History Resources, Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Gale Literary Databases, and Homework and Study Resources. I can now access these library resources without ever walking in my public library's front door.

All libraries will have to make major changes in order to compete with the internet and adapt to modern technology. Most libraries that I have seen are doing an exceptional job. These changes would have been necessary even without the advent of the internet; but it's fortunate for us that the internet has given libraries a shove in the right direction. Gone are the days of thumbing through outdated card catalogs, and shuffling through dusty volumes, only to discover that our efforts have been in vain. We now have the benefit of searchable databases and library catalogs which make the task of finding what we need much more easily and effectively.

Even in our fast-paced information age, libraries are very useful and necessary things. If they continue to take full advantage of all the amenities that the internet has to offer, libraries will continue to have a place in our education system.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Claerr.
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