The Internet is not ...

[Oliver Obst <obsto _at__ uni-muenster.de>]

Die Frage nach Vollendung des Satzes "The Internet is not ..." geisterte
seit geraumer Zeit in der Liste MEDLIB-L herum. Betrachten sie den (von mir
leicht editierten) Summary einfach als Versuch, das Sommerloch zu fuellen
:-)

Oliver Obst
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:         Thu, 15 Jun 1995 14:40:35 -0400
From:         Peter Schoenberg <u27284 _at__ GRHOSP.AB.CA>
Subject:      Summary of responses to:  THE INTERNET IS...

>Here the responses to my request to help me complete the sentence.
>
>       The internet is not...
>
>I also got (or the list got) a number of responses in the form of     The
Internet is...
>
>Since this is not Jeopardy, you are all winners.
>
>Responses as of  June 15, 1995 1400  MST
>
>The Internet is not...
>.. for sale?
>.. Medline (since many people suggest complicated searches when I pull up a
simple Webcrawler form!)
>.. Organized or classified
>.. a replacement for traditional libraries but a supplement to them
>.. in 1993: something I had a clue about
>.. in 1995: something I could live without.
>.. a replacement for libraries
>.. always correct in the information it provides
>.. A Vulcan Mind Meld.
>.. The be-all and end-all, but it sure helps!
>.. a free source/replacement for all of the journals that you would
otherwise have to pay for if you had them locally
>.. a free source/replacement for all of the databases that you would
otherwise have to pay for online or locally mounted
>.. comprehensive
>.. a library, or a panacea/alternative for not having a library or access
to one
>.. always authoritative
>.. optional any more.  It's a must.
>.. eating my life.  It is not!  It is not!
>.. for the faint of heart
>..  for Technophobes
>.. JUST for fun (it can be used for work too!)
>.. as difficult to use as everybody thinks
>.. utopia
>.. easy
>.. as effective, *on average*, as the most rudimentary subject index of
literature.
>.. a substitute for other kinds of human interaction (face to face
discussion,  phone conversation, etc.)
>..  organized, quality-filtered, or easy to use effectivly.
>
>The Internet is...
>..  something that feels alive and vital because it's constantly changing.
 This makes it exciting, which  lead to the metaphor of 'surfing'.
>..  the electronic equivalent of CB radio (stolen from Dave Barry).
>..  very time-consuming to learn, and extremely time- and
resource-consuming to set up in a 'friendly' fashion.
>.. more likely to have 'something' on any topic, no matter how poor, than a
basic library of any type, for the person willing to look long enough.
This does not make the 'something' inherently valuable, just thrilling to find.
>..   easier to use to contact subject experts, and less intimidating than
phone calls and quicker than surface mail.  It is also full of people who
call themselves subject experts but have no qualifications, experience or
training to be so.
>.. deceptive in feeling more 'up to date' than regular library resources.
Library materials shout their date at you.  It can be very difficult, if
not impossible, to find out when Internet material was written  or  compiled.
>.. like a space probe. You send it up and you never know whether it will
reach intelligent life!!
>.. Another tool
>.. another communications medium.
>.. Like other media -- e.g. crayons, speech, telephone, print, broadcast,
vinyl, magnetic tape, typewriting memos -- it has features that make it a
useful  tool for some purposes and inappropriate to others. Some types of
communication can work *only* on the Internet; some only with a kiss.
>
(I have seen students refuse to walk 20 feet to a shelf holding a
dictionary or encyclopedia to get a quick answer to a simple reference
question in favor of using an online version that took several minutes to
access through the net.)
>
>THE END,  thanks for all your input.
>
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
Peter Schoenberg
Library Services, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site, CHA
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5G 0B7
Tel:  403 471 2262 x2599     Fax:  403 471 7924

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 *  Oliver Obst, PhD                    Medical and Computing Department *
 *  medibib-l list owner                Univ. & Regional Library, Pf8029 *
 *  e-mail: obsto _at__ uni-muenster.de       48043 Muenster |^|^|^|^| Germany *
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