This is, at least in part, a reflection of the changed nature of books. The encylopedias are very beautiful with the binding and gold lettering but the highly coloured individual books are those that are most used and useful in our school library.
I agree! =) How can you judge a book by it's cover if they all look the same? I never saw an encyclopedia that made me say! Wow, I want to read that!! =) I have bought books though because I have liked the cover! =)
Did I tell you I am a nerd? One of my fondest memories was of going through all of the Encyclopedia Britannica while in study hall in high school. It is surprising how much trivia a person can pick up that way. Thought provoking photo. I would think that in this internet era much research is done on-line and books take a back seat?
@marybethosullivan My friend manages the library at our school and was a little bothered that I wanted to take that run of Britannicas because it was such a stereotypical view of libraries. The rest of the library is far more vibrant and interactive than that! @judis Having said that, the Britannicas are still there, Judi. It's an invaluable skill to be able to research other than on the internet and it's a skill we teach in school. The internet may be quick but it's not always accurate and there are lots of associated problems with our instant society. I teach Psychology and in the media topic, this is a bit of a hobby horse of mine!
Both tools for research have value but the internet will, IMO continue to pull ahead because of it's easy accessibility...most people have computers in their homes, working on that project at midnight means most libraries are not accessible. And the net also has the ability to easily update as things change. Reliability is its big downfall.
@angelar glad to hear it! Your course sounds interesting. I taught Teaching Theories at the university level and we were challenged with how to teach budding teachers ways to use computers in the classroom. That was back in the late 70s early 80s. (the stone age)
@judis I too remember my first introduction to a green screen computer in A level. We had 1 in the whole school and we were given a couple of lessons on how to write programmes to do basic mathematical sums cos that's what we all imagined we'd have to do with them in the future! Funny old world, huh?
@gardencat Reliability is indeed the thing. Ah, the wonders of wiki!
@judis Having said that, the Britannicas are still there, Judi. It's an invaluable skill to be able to research other than on the internet and it's a skill we teach in school. The internet may be quick but it's not always accurate and there are lots of associated problems with our instant society. I teach Psychology and in the media topic, this is a bit of a hobby horse of mine!
@gardencat Reliability is indeed the thing. Ah, the wonders of wiki!