Radical change in libraries

BayArea.com is running This Story on federal depository libraries.

They say federal depository libraries are empty now, not that students, teachers and data-oriented members of the general public have forsaken research, it’s that they’ve turned to the Internet for most of it.

They also say it’s more democratic to have electronic documents, since thatlets patrons get at the information anytime from anywhere they can log onto the Internet.

“If people are helping themselves to this stuff online, I don’t know if they are getting what they really are after, or whether they are willing to just take what’s there,” said Santa Clara University’s Carlson.