CTEC 115 Final Exam essay

CTEC 115 Final Exam essay

•  To locate Merrill Distad's article " The Future of Print: The Book" I used the Cannell library database.   I started with the "find" drop down menu and selected articles and databases link. I chose to look in the Ebsco host database. In Ebsco I entered the title in the keywords box then selected the search by title to the right of it. I also entered Distad, Merrill in the AND box below then selected search by author to the right of it. 

• Finding Ewan Morrison's article was a little easier on the open web with my favorite search engine Google and simply typed the title "are books dead, and can authors survive?". When my search results came up it was right on the top of the list. 

Evaluating:

•   Using the elements of ASPECT to evaluate the articles I first like to look at purpose. Ewan Morrison's purpose seems to be to convince readers that books are dying out to e-books and that authors are suffering. Distad's purpose seems to be to convince readers that there is room for both and that the book will not become obsolete. There seems to be more EVENNESS is Distad's article. Both authors use statistics in there articles about book sales and state where they are from but I did not find any sources that were properly cited or a bibliography. I did find statistics that were similar to the ones used in both articles in a New York Times article published may 19, 2011 and found that by using Google. I used the open web to find out information about both authors using a Google search of their names. Ewan Morrison is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories. Distad is the associate University Librarian for research & special collections services at the university of Alberta.  (this is also stated at the end of his article). Info about Morrison was found on Wikipedia and the info I found to confirm Distad is found on www.alibris.com     . In looking  for information on the publisher of Morrison's article I found the guardian web site with a google search  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk I also found an interesting article in the Cannell database in Proquest http://0-search.proquest.com.oswald.clark.edu/docview/421706507/1384B6B7F1F652FC472/14?accountid=1157. This article states that the Guardian newspaper is notorious for typos and seems to run a daily correction column. I used the open web again to find the publisher of Distad's article. Using a Google search I found that Feliciter looks legitimate and that they are the only national magazine dedicated to serving the Canadian Library and information services community.  http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Feliciter1.  Both seem to have authority, both use statistics and state sources, although I did not find a bibliography of sources from either. Their purposes are both to convince their readers of their opinion. They both seem to have a good level of trustworthiness for their purpose they are serving which is their opinions. If I had to grade them on the trustworthiness scale of 1 to 10 I would give Distad a 10 and Morrison an 8.5.  Morrison seems a little more biased and does not offer as much opposition.  He seems to be very much opposed to the revolution of new technology and the way people are getting their information and why not, after all he is an author and he feels threatened by this new technology.  What I find very ironic though is the fact that the very newspaper that publishes his article has joined the revolution by going digital.  

 Review of Distad's The Future of Print: The Book

           "The Future of Print: The Book" is an article written by Merrill Distad who is the associate University librarian for research & special collections services at the university of Alberta, where he has been employed since 1987.  In Distad's article he is attempting to convince readers that there is room for both books and e-books. Distad writes a good article about the rising trend of e-books and how they are being chosen over books today. 

        Merrill Distad gives statistics and writes with evenness to convince you as a reader that the book will not become obsolete. I like the fact that he lists the advantages and disadvantages of e-books. Distad makes very good points in the disadvantages stating that "E-books cannot be shared with a friend without also sharing the e-reader and "e-books are also vulnerable to censorship, whether by subtle alteration of their texts or, less subtly, by outright confiscation". He points out the benefits that e-books could serve in large reference books like encyclopedias  and/or anything that is regularly revised and updated.  Distad closes by raising some very good points of how the book will not become obsolete. He states that students prefer books for later resale value and that "purchasers building institutional or personal subject collections will not succumb to e-books" and finally the importance of keeping printed books in the presence of children's homes. 

         I really enjoyed reading Distad's article and especially how he shows both sides. The advantages and disadvantages of the e-books and does make some very valid points of why he believes that the book will not die. There is no doubt that e-books are taking over. I for one think that the book will not fade out. They are here to stay for a long time. books may be what vinyl records are to compact CD's. Hey vinyl records are still around. In fact they are making a bit of a comeback.