Hey, I’m a librarian, and honest, even I go to Google to find information.
Google is great for the fast fact, as long as you act like an information professional and discern truth from opinion and fiction from lies. Google is really good for finding the altitude of Bolivia, the president of Toyota, or the address for that company you want to work for when you graduate.
Many of us here in the library are big fans of Google. Reference librarians regularly teach workshops on how to use Google Scholar. I have my own stuff in iGoogle, and I own a Droid. I suppose that makes me an official fan, eh?
But there actually are things Google isn’t so good at. If you want a list of journal articles on a combination of topics, say, feminist opinion on biracial adolescents, and you want to actually link to the digital articles, Google will want you to PAY for the articles. Set your Scholar Preferences in Google Scholar so that you are recognized as part of the DU community and you will get all the articles for free. We also have lots of other article databases through Penrose’s website which will give you the full text of articles for free. At Penrose, the library has paid, so you don’t have to!
If you want to study Italian for that upcoming trip to Bologna, Google isn’t all that great, but Penrose Library’s website will lead you to your very own copy of Rosetta Stone.
So, give some thought to what Google isn’t good at, and think about Penrose instead. There is a lot that we are really good at! And we actually have people here to help you with your information and research questions. Google doesn’t.
–Nancy Allen, Dean and Director of Penrose Library
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