If the Academic Library Ceased to Exist, Would We Have to Invent It?
EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 42, no. 1 (January/February 2007): 6–7
Lynn Scott Cochrane
Conventional wisdom among college and university students (and many of their parents) in early 2007 is that "everything needed for research is available free on the Web." Therefore, academic libraries are often viewed as costly dinosaurs—unnecessary expenses in today's environment. This idea is uninformed at best and foolish at worst. If college and university libraries and librarians didn't exist, we would certainly have to invent—better yet, re-invent—them.
Here's why.
