At least librarians aren't alone in this brave new world of technology not only changing but upending and overhauling just about everything but the manner in which we take in oxygen. Academics are curmudgeons once again, and this time the issue is wikipedia. The underlying fear seems to be that wikipedia will render them unnecessary. Being a reference librarian, and being curious about nearly every subject under the sun, I, like many of today's younger people, love to browse wikipedia for information on a vast array of subjects I never took a class in. On the job, however, I rarely take it seriously and, for obvious reasons, always give people a disclaimer when I use it to look up information.
A recent article in Information Today provides a fresh look at wikipedia. It is not going to disappear, nor is it going to supersede the need for academia and its role in research and teaching the need for the proper evaluation of information, especially if we teach people to recognize wikipedia for what it is and allow it to be a gateway to the kind of information gathering and evaluating it can best be used as, and to work at improving it to better serve that role. It's an interesting article that I highly recommend:
Link to article
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There was a study done in 2005 that pitted Wikipedia against the online version of Encyclopedia Brittanica, and, quote, "Wikipedia is about as good a source of accurate information as Britannica, the venerable standard-bearer of facts about the world around us, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature."
Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica
I found out how to make a link to the article, so now you can read it.
I love wikipedia. It's got all kinds of articles a traditional encyclopedia would never have on topics such as television, music, movies, actors, popular books. It also sums up topics very well and gives you further links to explore. And it has good graphics. And you don't have to go and get another heavy volume to explore related topics. You just click, and there you are. I use it for my own reference all of the time, though I am aware with such an interactive resource, guaranteeing accurate information 100% of the time is impossible.
Have you seen that Office episode where Michael Scott talks about wikipedia? Too funny!
John and I laugh about that snippet all of the time.
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