This week is National Library Week. I get so frustrated when I hear politicians say things like "With the internet, we don't need libraries anymore." We need libraries now more than ever. Not only because libraries house the books we want to read and use for research but also because librarians are super at helping a person find their next read or discover information about a topic they're researching. Google is great but it isn't a resource for everything.
Many web sites are skewed toward or against one viewpoint or another. Without someone (like a librarian) to help you evaluate web sites, you might get caught using inaccurate information. This is important for students, but it's just as important for an author. If you write an historical novel, for example, using a web site with little authority behind it caught come back to bite you in the behind. Your readers might nail you, or reviewers familiar with that time period might catch you out. Utilizing a library and help from librarians can get you accurate information with a decent level of authority behind it. By authority I mean, a book that's written by an expert in the field. Not just some dude or dudette who may or may not have done research themselves.
So this week, visit your local library. Thank a librarian.
And remember, we do need libraries!
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