Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Wikipedia Cambridge [posted by Troy] Those of us in higher education have noted the increased use of sources like Wikipedia by students. Wikipedia is a great idea, but it presents several problems for researchers. This source is a community built encyclopedia. Anyone can write up pieces on any subject. I have had several friends comment that they love Wikipedia (Stoner!). This presents several problems to me. The biggest is how do you know whether to trust this source? You can't. That's the problem. As an example, take a look at this posting in Wikipedia about Cambridge, Illinois. This demonstrates the problem of a source like Wikipedia. You can go on there and write anything you'd like. Some have termed this problem as "the cult of the amateur," which has a slight ring of academic snobbery, but actually brings up a good point. We don't rely on amateurs to give us medicine, fly our planes, plan our roads, or do a number of other things. Yet, when it comes to trustworthy information, people tend to believe anything they find on the Web. Here is a post from LISnews about Wikipedia and quality control. 6:27:14 PM  permanent link  Reader Comments []  Google It! Library Stories Hello Library Fans [posted by Troy] Well, I came across a couple of library stories today. I know that all of you love libraries, so I am sharing them: Vonnegut likes libraries but not the president Libraries keep your books 12:19:09 AM  permanent link  Reader Comments []  Google It!

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