Your library is about much more than what books, DVDs, and CDs are on the shelf. How is the library relevant when one can go to the Internet for everything? What is the library’s role in an Internet age?
Librarians are trained to help you sift through the vast amounts of information available not only through books, but also through websites and databases. Librarians undergo constant education to adapt, use, and teach new technology. Librarians, in the process of helping patrons access this information, also teach patrons how to be information literate.
An information literate person is.. “...one who is able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information.”
(American Library Association. Presidential Commission on Information Literacy)
Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University wrote a great article on “10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library”. Here is a quick summary of the ten reasons given in the article:
1. Not everything is on the Internet
2. The needle (your search) in the haystack (the Web)
3. Quality control doesn’t exist
4. What you don’t know really does hurt you
5. States Can Now Buy One Book and Distribute to Every Library on the Web—NOT!
6. Hey, Bud, You Forgot about E-book Readers
7. Aren’t There Library-less Universities Now?
8. But a Virtual State Library Would Do It, Right?
9. The Internet: A Mile Wide, an Inch (or Less) Deep
10. The Internet Is Ubiquitous but Books Are Portable
Coming Soon: The James I. Gibson Library is moving to a brand new building! Read on to learn about the library's history, building timeline, and all the services to be offered.
a little background..
The James I. Gibson Library has been located at the corner of Water Street and Basic Road in downtown Henderson since 1989. With a humble beginning in a small building nearly dwarfed by its swamp cooler in 1944, the Henderson Library District precedes the city by almost ten years. The Gibson library replaced the original Henderson Library (1953-1989) that was housed on the corner of Water Street and Pacific Avenue. The library is named for State Senator James Isaac Gibson, 1925-1988, who served in the state legislature for twenty-nine years from 1959 to 1988. He was instrumental in acquiring funds for the library's construction.
