Internet AND Local Library

My wife and I were recently at our local library. The reference librarian, who I used to contact for help on a weekly basis, commented, “I haven’t worked with you in a long time. Are you still writing books and doing research?”

I didn’t explain to him, but thanks to the Internet, I no longer need to take all my difficult questions to the library, nor even to make what used to be a twice-annual trip to the New York City Public Library (a gorgeous, incredible place, by the way), to ferret out questions my local library can’t solve.

Things have changed dramatically in recent years.

Yes I still go to the library frequently, and I regularly have books I’m processing on my nightstand, in our beach bag, and in my office. For driving trips, Michelle and I regularly listen to audio books which we find at our local library.

But I now tend to use the Internet as the first stop for my research needs, more so than the library. With a well-worded search on Google, I can find anything in minutes.

I also do a lot of news reading via Internet, rather than print. Some of my favorite sources are the various columns that Ted Olsen compiles at Christianity Today:

• WEBLOG is an annotated digest of 100 to 1000 links from recent days, covering every aspect of religion, categorized by section. My favorite sections are “Church Life” and “Ministry and Missions.” Weblog has run, on average, a couple of times each week since 1999. Here’s a recent sample: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/julyweb-only/127-51.0.html
• QUOTATION MARKS is an occasional short column of interesting quotable quotes. Here’s a sample: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/16.15.html
• GO FIGURE juxtaposes a handful of numbers, often cleverly showing a contrast. Here’s a sample: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/april/17.22.html
• LIVEBLOG is the newest news post from CT. It includes newsy blog entries from several of CT’s editors, including Ted Olsen. Here’s the link (always the same): http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/

GOOGLE ALERTS is another Internet search help that brings useful material to me daily. I search for “megachurch,” “largest church,” “multi-site church,” etc. Yes, I also have a Google Alert for “Warren Bird.” Don’t you?

Of course, I also read the fine online fare from Leadership Network:
- Advance, our free every-other-week enewsletter: http://www.leadnet.org/Resources_AdvanceArchive.asp
- Our books blog: http://books.leadnet.org/
- and www.multisitechurchrevolution.com

What are some of the ways you depend most on the Internet? How do you still use your local library most?

Comments

[Dave Anthold]

I rarely go to the "brick and mortar" library these days. I utilize the internet as my primary means of research; however, I do utilize online libraries from universities as they often have access to periodicals that you can't find on the internet.