Many of us have lost sight of the benefits libraries offer to us in a largely digital age, even more so the benefits that librarians themselves offer to us.  However, even as a graduate student, libraries and librarians present an enormous benefit to students who are willing to take advantage of the free help in writing research papers and thesis papers.  Online programs do not mean that you do not have equal access to a library; they should indicate to students that they should take advantage of even more community college libraries and the assistance that comes with knowledgeable librarians.

Ohio is one state that is slowly building up its online degree programs through many new offices for online colleges.  While it seems strange that states need to have offices for their online college programs, these locations help attract students to the school and provides an outlet when they need assistance with online courses.  Ohio is not known for its wide array of universities, but does contain many prolific libraries which can prove largely beneficial to online students who need to do research for major research papers.  Libraries are almost becoming historic remnants of a time before the internet, sadly enough, as many public libraries have lost funding and have cut hours.  College libraries do not seem to be in trouble of losing funding due to large endowments, but the more students take advantage of this free help, the more we can preserve the future of libraries.

Online research cannot compete with old fashioned library research and can yield extraordinarily different results.  The internet is difficult to do old-fashioned research with, despite the many programs and easily accessible sites it offers.  However, looking up research through books can provide a greater lead on research papers than simply typing a keyword into Google.  You never know what to expect from the internet, even though it remains a popular search option.  Additionally, while Wikipedia may have provided a great source for undergraduate papers (despite professor’s objections), it should never be used in graduate work, especially in researching a thesis assignment.  That would make professors cringe to just think about!   

We live in a world that is rapidly changing into one that is reliant on the internet for most of its daily uses, but libraries should continue to be a source for research and a place to find solace that cannot be found in simply surfing the internet.