Hi - I think a lot of people here are focusing more on Librarian In Black's concern of the "Buy Now" buttons - when you should be concerned about your privacy. First, I get why she is annoyed by the "Buy Now" button. Libraries do not wish to "endorse" a particular service or product over another - and the "Buy Now" button gives the sense that "This Library supports Amazon" over another bookseller.

As for the privacy concerns, I've noticed a lot of comments on "Well, don't libraries give up those records with the PATRIOT act anyway?" When the PATRIOT act was enacted, libraries in the US scrambled to protect the rights of their users and the majority of them only have a record of who has what item out at that time - they do not have a record of what you returned.

And of course, there are lots who are saying "Libraries, bah - NOT RELEVANT." And I'm sure that is true for many of you; however, the library is more than books. Libraries provide a space for people to gather, they provide free internet to those who cannot afford it, they provide lessons on various computer programs, storytimes for children, etc. I am in an academic college library, and the majority of my students cannot afford their textbooks, let alone a computer for them to use. Please remember, you are probably viewing this article from your own computer - there are still a lot of people out there who don't have that luxury. Libraries help people with research, and despite what everyone thinks - not everything is found via Google. Perhaps Rush Limbaugh could have used a librarian / library when he made those horrible remarks about the LRA.

Yes, I saw that too. Have you not ever had the case where all the website that answer the question you want seem to reference themselves? Site A says it's true because Site B says it's true because site C says its true because site A says it's true.

And then through your research you discover - shocking - it's not true!

It happens ALL the time on the internet. And most people aren't going to be like me and search back to the original source.

Another problem is how do you know it's a reputable site? I am a librarian and I teach college students information literacy, and it seems no one has critical thinking skills to judge whether or not a site is a good source of information! I think Google is just perpetuating the culture of misinformation we have. end rant

This concerns me. If it is just a gathering of facts from the top sites - who is to say that information is even accurate. I find lots of sites that all reference each other with the same false information.

What? You mean people don't believe that I'm a 90 year old hermaphrodite who likes rock climbing and Quantum physics? I would love to go through my marketing data. ;-)

Libraries are not just about knowledge. They are about gathering places - they are about providing services to the public. Not everyone can afford books, movies, internet, etc. Libraries provide access to these things. I realise to everyone it looks like a waste of time and money, but it isn't. Some of the video games (Dragon Age for example) provide more reading than most books these days. Of course, I am biased. I am a librarian. I spend my days showing students why they still need the library. I show them pictures of fake giant skeletons, I show them pictures of Paris Hilton and Pope John Paul II clubbing in Ibiza. I try and show them that right now, we need libraries more than ever. We have reached an age where we can fake reality - who can say what is real. You need a place that can help you find out what the facts are. Maybe (at the ripe old age of 30), I'm already a dinosaur.

I'm a college librarian - I teach research classes and am always out in the computer lab section of our library. I'd venture to say that 90% of ALL computers at a college or university are being used for: Facebook and YouTube. I have students who can't get a computer to type out an essay because the computer lab is full (and I'm not even exaggerating) of students checking their facebook. (We can't ban facebook because they might need it for "educational purposes"). We get a report here that tells us essentially where all our bandwidth is going: Facebook, Youtube, Google Video, Myspace.

I teach in a computer lab. As funny / not terribly boring as my lecture is (I mean, really, the topic is research, I can't make it THAT thrilling) - I simply can't compete with texting / facebook, etc. And the computers FACE me. I find it distracting for me, the lecturer. When I do say something like "Oh, I can see you are telling all your friends how great the library is on Facebook", they all look at me like "What?? You know what facebook is??" (Yes, my dear students, I'm only thirty... not dead.)

I wonder how many people have a "passwords.txt" file in their Documents. ;-)

I tried to switch into a Computer Science double major instead of just my English degree. (English was so boring, I was tired of analysing the sexual inference of a tree shadow across a woman's bed). The Computer Science department was thrilled to have me (I had comp sci experience, could program, etc). BUT, I had to get into this one math course - so off I went to talk to the math department. The math professor I spoke to informed me that he "didn't think girls were good at math" and therefore, he wouldn't let me in. Yes, that was his whole reason - and this was only 10 years ago. I was young, stupid, and didn't take it to the Human Rights Office, instead, I went to the Classics department and spent 3 years learning latin (YAY). I think lots of girls are still discouraged from entering in the sciences - either quietly or overtly. I don't think it's sexual harassment - everyone in university seems to collectively "sexually harass" each other. It's called teasing, and it happens everywhere everyday. I also don't believe it's because CS isn't "social" - there are LOTS of opportunities for social interaction. I later became a systems librarian, so I could use the CS skills I have WITH the sociable aspect. There is a great demand for intermediaries - people who can speak tech and explain things to both sides (techies and non-techies). I suspect it's these small little pockets of "Girls suck at that" professors / administrators / high school teachers who discourage women from pursuing the field.