this is horrid. Sorry,Sean.

Oh hell, Sean.

Ugh Sean, that's awful. I'm so sorry.

Oh fucking hell, Sean. I am so sorry, and hoping like crazy that things get better.

Sean, my god. I'm so incredibly sorry this is happening, and all my wishes go to a hopeful resolution.

Kristin, I'm a little bit of a techno-addict myself, in my own little way. IMDB, Google, Yahoo search, as well as specific subject searches make up most of my day. I'm often accused--by my family! of being too impatient and expectant of immediate gratification to actually think and attempt to remember things, rather than fingers flying on a keyboard to look up the answer nownownow! So I get the smartboard in the classroom thing, I do.

But I can't help mentioning that one of the things my best teachers gave me was how to research. Not just where to find information I needed, but how to follow a trail of interconnected information, from source to source. Libraries are still gold mines of info, and I'd hate to see the skills of physical research lost in the shift to electronics. Is that hidebound of me? Maybe. But I can't quite believe the need for being able to sift through physical media for information that ties together, that tracks through layers and years of periodicals, books, and articles is going to go away any time soon.

I could be wrong. We may be able to do it all electronically. I do know for me, learning the hunt, the mechanics, the expectations, and the prospecting was far more valuable than the information I found on any subject.

Kristin, thanks for sharing your viewpoint. It's hard for me to picture how computers are really used in the classroom so that was a new angle on the issue I hadn't really contemplated before.

And those Smartboards sound fab.

(But Bev's points about research do make me want to go to a library and dig in.)

the hunt is still there -- if you are relying on Google - you aren't doing research. Most of he easily available stuff is pretty shallow -- you need to learn the world of databases -- and he cheap way to that world is thru your public library

Sean, I'm so sorry.

Sean, I'm so sorry. Keeping you and S in my thoughts.

But I can't help mentioning that one of the things my best teachers gave me was how to research. Not just where to find information I needed, but how to follow a trail of interconnected information, from source to source.

Oh, but we still teach this! We just don't need to do it physically anymore. The Library of Congress is digital--scanned, original documents and all--and God bless it. Like beth says:

the hunt is still there -- if you are relying on Google - you aren't doing research. Most of he easily available stuff is pretty shallow -- you need to learn the world of databases -- and he cheap way to that world is thru your public library

My job requires research all of the time. Deep, complicated, interconnected, academic research, and I do it all through the school's library databases. It's incredibly freeing. The students do learn the value of physical research in terms of archeology and such, but regular research is all so much easier than it was. In fact, I've found that the students are able go a lot further in their search (once they learn how to make their research substantive, as Beth says) because the logistics are so much faster.

And I am a bibliophile, don't get me wrong--I love the feel and touch of books and will always love them and hug them and call them George, but I am so glad I have a quicker way to sift through until I can get to the good stuff.

Side note: I do think it depends on what you're studying--if you're looking at primary texts as a specialist, there is likely a real reason to see the originals. I'm mostly referring to easily replicated sources here...and to each his or her own!

ETA: Beth, I meant to say that this cracked me the hell up:

I work in a library . I love the library .But please let no one ever have to go thru the hell of the reader's guide to periodic literature. Tech save us.