Internet editorial

Citation

O’Beirne, R. (2006), "Internet editorial", Reference Reviews, Vol. 20 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/rr.2006.09920hag.001

Internet editorial

In my last editorial I wrote about how social networking was having an impact on the way information is created, arranged, managed and retrieved on the worldwide web. This, I concluded, would have a knock-on effect on the range and format of sources used in the delivery of reference services. Only a few days after I had written this there was a spate of postings to the UK Information Literacy mailing list fuelling a discussion about the validity of Wikipedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page). Apparently a false entry had been written and published on the website which was then followed up by a question to the Yahoo! question and answer service (see http://answers.yahoo.com/). The Yahoo! service simply returned the erroneous Wikipedia entry as the “answer”. As librarians we know that an enquiry service is only as good as the sources used. The principle of caveat emptor is used by librarians when procuring these sources, and where any level of uncertainty exists then it is considered to be good practice to make an enquirer aware of the reputation of the source used. The critical evaluation of sources certainly falls squarely in the realm of information literacy as defined by a range of professional bodies across the globe. Critical evaluation does not, however, depend upon, or even require, the notion that there exists one universal truth.

The library, in its traditional form, is defined by rows of shelves filled with books and is seen by many as housing the truth. In turn, the worldwide web is perceived by many as untrustworthy. This is a neat dichotomy that has been reinforced by many within our profession simply on the grounds of self-interest. The myth of truth as a quality that can live outside subjective context is essentially the bedrock upon which much of Western society is built. The internet may, through phenomena such as social networking, provide us with a truth that carries with it that subjective context. Many authors are happy to manipulate our trustworthy notion of the library. Almost all the Harry Potter books, well written and with wonderfully crafted plots, use the vehicle of a library to unblock, escalate and twist the tale. Typically this plot device can provide the missing piece of information or can supply the long lost record of some forgotten occurrence. Madam Pince, the librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, perpetuates the myth of the librarian, in her careful handling of great tomes containing listings of spells and potions. Here even the reader is led to believe the importance of the truth in the untrue.

So why not start up your own trustworthy library and host it on the worldwide web of infidelity? The new LibraryThing (see www.librarything.com/) is “an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere – even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth”. By the way, if you are a new recruit to the profession and you are reading this in a slightly alarmed way, particularly if you fancied a career in cataloguing – don’t worry, it will probably not catch on. But then again I think I said that about Google! Certainly there is a strong social networking aspect to the principles on which LibraryThing is built. It is the sum of all the efforts of all the contributors that makes the whole so strong.

Libraries, of whatever type, which can adapt and even harness the power of social networking will set the pace in the coming years. The journey was originally thought to be simply one from print to digital. But there is much more to it than a mere format change. The very essence of communication in a digital world changes, not just the format but significantly the content. Collaboration across a social network, for example a Wiki, can deliver as much high-quality content as is required. The information literacy cause will continue to be well served so long as it seeks to critically evaluate rather than pursue a truth.

Rónán O’BeirneInternet Column Editor, Reference Reviews, and Principal Libraries Officer, Bradford Libraries, Archives and Information Service, Bradford, UK