There
is a public library in Sydney, that is a stones throw
away from a major public transport hub where ferries,
trains and buses converge. You can sip coffee, check
out books, surf the Internet, review a health database,
read magazines, and watch DVDs. The library is buzzing
with people from all walks of life. Isn't it funny
that in this day and age when people can easily access
any information online, they still find a library
attractive? In London's Tower Hamlets, libraries are
being branded as "idea stores", and are
looking more like retail shops located in shopping
centers.
Despite
the amount of information on the Internet growing
day by day, libraries will thrive rather than decay
into oblivion. Searching for information online has
already started presenting problems. Humans have a
remarkable brain, without being aware, is able to
automatically categorize information based on meaning.
You can walk into a video shop and locate a movie
of your choice from all the different choices available,
and then go to the supermarket and pick up your groceries
from all the different aisles. How we manage to do
this is not fully understood, but "mental highways"
rather than information highways unconsciously instruct
us to act and make the selection.
Computers
have to be taught semantics. If you are searching
for information to help your son or daughter with
a chemistry test and you do a Google search for "Mercury",
you get 175,000,000 hits. You do not have the time
to search through this overwhelming amount of information.
There is information on Mercury like the winged messenger,
a planet, an old car and even a record label but nothing
on the metal. The search did not have the correct
context. A librarian can help structure your query
correctly and select databases most relevant to your
search. |
