At first glance, the World Wide Web appears to be a researcher's dream come true. You might wonder why anyone bothers going to the library anymore. 

Library Resources on the Internet

The contents of a library have been selected, catalogued, indexed, and organized to facilitate the retrieval of information by library users.

Liibraries are staffed by highly trained information professionals - librarians - whose job it is to assist students to find the information they need for their course assignments and to help students learn to use the library and its resources.

Libraries provide access to full text databases. These databases contain the electronic versions of many familiar printed magazines, journals, and newspapers. These journals are not freely available on the Internet. Just like a library pays for subscriptions to printed journals, libraries also pay for access to electronic journals.

Internet Resources

Documents do not undergo any selection process but rather are placed there at will by anyone with access to a web server 

There is no overall effort, nor any rules or standards, to organize information to facilitate information retrieval 

The most assistance you will get is from an automated tool that does not possess the intelligence to know what it is that you really need.

Values of the Internet

Very current, such as today's news or a press release from government, business or other organization

Brief and not detailed

Documents published by a government, association, or university.

Obscure or current subject on which it is unlikely that there has been very much information published or not likely to be found in the library.

For more information use the library's subject guide on  searching the Internet.