this is for real, I know I had way underestimated the impact of the internet for modern students until I realized all the work I was doing putting together an outline for my sister was available from wikipedia in a few clicks.
Research projects are never going to be the same.
Agreed. However, you need to be able to discern the BS when using the Internet.
I still have a personal research library at my fingertips.
You're right about that. Back in the early and mid-80's at the University of Minnesota, most of my research was done in the reference area of Wilson Library.
A few years back, I went back to get my degree and found that I could achieve a lot of what I was looking for by using Internet searches.
I didn't rely on the Internet alone (and no one should) - but I said to myself at least a few times "Cripes, I wish the Internet were around back when I was first at college!".
Nosy busybody comment: Shouldn't your sister be putting together her own outline?
One added-value librarians still have is teaching trustworthy sites; depending on how you're using it, I would not recommend Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all source of information. Good for organizational purposes, but the information can be very questionable at times.
Research projects are never going to be the same.
Thank God. I shutter to think of the millions of hours that I spent looking things up that now could be done in two seconds. I am glad that libraries are faltering. I hope they run out of business. They just suck up tax money. It is time to close all of them down. I think with Barnes and Noble and Google, libaries are done.