{"id":1312,"date":"2009-10-07T00:51:28","date_gmt":"2009-10-07T07:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2009-10-07T00:51:28","modified_gmt":"2009-10-07T07:51:28","slug":"commentary-1-on-virtual-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/2009\/10\/07\/commentary-1-on-virtual-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary 1: On Virtual Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"shelf<\/a>
shelf browse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was quietly amused upon discovering the \u201cvisual shelf\u201d in the Library Catalogue section of my new school\u2019s website, especially as this coincided with the readings on virtual libraries.\u00a0 Aside from looking up books using a standard search of title, author, or topic, students and staff can browse the shelves either from the computer or the comfort of their own home, by simply sliding a box along the image of a shelf of books.\u00a0 However, is this a virtual library by any means?\u00a0 It may be designed to appeal to the computer-savvy nature of today\u2019s child, yet the child still needs to move out of the virtual shelf into the actual school library in order to find the information they seek.<\/p>\n

A simple definition for a virtual library<\/em> is \u201cthe worldwide collection of online books, journals and articles available on the Internet.\u201d (PCMAG) \u00a0O\u2019Donnell\u2019s definition is that it is a \u201cvast, ideally universal collection of information and instantaneous access to that information wherever it physically resides.\u201d (O\u2019Donnell)\u00a0 \u00a0A more complex interpretation, quoted from Kaye Gapen, states that a virtual library is:<\/p>\n

the concept of remote access to the contents and services of libraries and other information resources, combining an on-site collection of current and heavily used materials in both print and electronic form, with an electronic network which provides access to, and delivery from, external worldwide library and commercial information and knowledge sources. (Martell)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The simple definition, that of the collection of materials found on the Internet, is exactly that: too simplified.\u00a0 Yet when one uses a search engine on \u201cvirtual libraries,\u201d one finds a barrage of results that use this definition of a virtual library, most of them categorized by subject matter or educational institution.\u00a0 The site that claims to be the \u201cWWW Virtual Library\u201d is simply a series of tiered, nested categories that eventually result in several collections of links. (WWWVL)\u00a0 This example is in no way universal in its scope, as it is monitored by a small group of people who determine what should be included and what should not; nor does it even meet the simple definition of being the<\/em> collection of materials found on the internet.<\/p>\n

If a library is to be deemed a virtual library according to O\u2019Donnell, then it should be ideally universal, vast, and accessible instantaneously.\u00a0 O\u2019Donnell himself recognizes that this is a fantasy that has roots at least as far back as \u201cof the first major Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the so-called Septuagint.\u201d (O\u2019Donnell)\u00a0 He goes further to state that the dream of the virtual library has not changed since this time, only that the \u201ctechnical possibilities\u201d have.\u00a0 (O\u2019Donnell)\u00a0 However, such a library would be impossible to come to full fruition, because of the fact that, as technologies \u201cadvance,\u201d the library itself would become obsolete, and a new creation would need to be included.\u00a0 In addition, O\u2019Donnell addresses the problem of the \u201cever-accumulating geometrically expanding heaps\u201d of information that would accrue if this virtual library included a historical collection of everything from the past along with the current and future knowledge base.\u00a0 (O\u2019Donnell)<\/p>\n

Gapen\u2019s definition seems a little more realistic and a little more usable in today\u2019s world.\u00a0 Unlike O\u2019Donnell, her definition allows for a sifting mechanism of sorts in that her virtual library is limited to \u201ccurrent and heavily used materials.\u201d (Martell)\u00a0 However, who determines what materials will be heavily used?\u00a0 In other words, who determines what will be in this virtual library?\u00a0 Gapen herself describes the virtual library as a \u201clibrary metaphor for a societal control revolution,\u201d (Martell) implying that some group somewhere is imposing their beliefs on the library consumers.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the meaning of the word virtual<\/em> itself implies that a virtual library does not physically exist; it just appears<\/em> to exist.\u00a0 This is a paradox in itself, though; does that mean that the knowledge we gain from a virtual library is not actually knowledge \u2013 it just appears<\/em> to be knowledge?\u00a0 Perhaps the term virtual<\/em> in the realm of academic information in a world of electronic technology needs to be challenged, as the answer to that question is most obviously \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current state of the Internet exacerbates the problems both O\u2019Donnell\u2019s and Gapen\u2019s definitions of the virtual library in the sense that there is an overabundance of information and, as yet, no effective way of accessing \u00a0accurate information quickly and efficiently.\u00a0 It is by far much easier and faster to find information than by the previous methods of the past, yet it is still far from perfect, and as O\u2019Donnell suggests, once we get close to the ideal virtual library, new technology will be in place that will make that ideal obsolete.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martell, C. (1999). Reaching into the Mist for the Elusive “Virtual” Thing.\u00a0Journal of Academic Librarianship<\/em>,\u00a025<\/em>(2), 132. http:\/\/search.ebscohost.com<\/a><\/p>\n

O’Donnell, J. J. (1994). The virtual library: an idea whose time has passed. Proceedings of the Third Symposium on Gateways, Gatekeepers, and Roles in the information Omniverse<\/em> (Washington, D.C., United States). A. Okerson and D. Mogge, Eds. Association of Research Libraries, Washington, DC, 19-31. http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070204034556\/http:\/\/ccat.sas.upenn.edu\/jod\/virtual.html<\/a><\/p>\n

PCMAG.com.<\/em> Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/encyclopedia_term\/0,2542,t=virtual+library&i=53926,00.asp<\/a><\/p>\n

The World Wide Web Virtual Library<\/em>. Retrieved October 2, 2009, from http:\/\/vlib.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was quietly amused upon discovering the \u201cvisual shelf\u201d in the Library Catalogue section of my new school\u2019s website, especially as this coincided with the readings on virtual libraries.\u00a0 Aside from looking up books using a standard search of title, author, or topic, students and staff can browse the shelves either from the computer or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":897,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4973],"tags":[6811,5848],"class_list":["post-1312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary-1","tag-commentary-1","tag-virtual-library"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/897"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec540sept09\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}