Monday, March 26, 2012

Reference Books

Last Monday, literary agent Jane Dystel, wrote a blog post about the fact that there would be no more physical copies of The Encyclopedia Britannica. I don't like it one bit. :-(  I knew it would happen eventually. Doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Even though the Internet offers a great deal of everything, I will always love a physical copy of a book--any book! I love to conduct research when I write a new story. There is always something new to learn. I love grabbing a book from a shelf--mine or the library's-- and devouring the information.

And what's more, I like to know where the "accurate" information is coming from. I ordered a reference book online, and it's author was not reliable, to say the least.

So, I'm left to wonder who will be the gatekeepers of accurate reference material via the Internet?

I will still seek physical copies of reference books, no matter where I have to find them; like this guy:


4 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I've still got my old Encyclopedia brittanica's, though they are outdated now. I used 'em for many years as reference sources.

raine said...

Agreed.
I've kept my set of old Brittanicas intact, and will be holding onto them for dear life.
Although I love the internet, give me facts that have been researched and verified.
And I love the big ol' books. What can I say? :)

Robin said...

So sad! We had an encyclopedia my mom got from the grocery store - one book each time she went. It was my main source of information for school reports! My kids barely know what a library is!

Tyhitia Green said...

Charles,
I still have my World Book Encyclopedias. They are outdated, but so many things are the same.

Raine,
Nothing to add. I agree completely! ;)

Robin,
Don't get me started on brick and mortar libraries. We need to keep them!