The Internet - drowning in its own waste?

[Griselda]

I tend to think of the internet (well, specifically the WWW) as either a place for discussion within some sort of internet community, or as a place for easy, quick information. I use it all the time to look up little bits of information. For example, if I have a question about a basketball player while I'm watching a game, I can head to the computer and look it up. If I want some general information on a random topic, I can usually find that without too much trouble. I think it works similarly to the encyclopedia set we had when I was growing up- little bits of information on lots of topics, Of course, the internet is much more pop-culture oriented than the encyclopedias were, and I'm sure I learn less browsing the internet randomly than I did flipping through the encyclopedia.

But, I *don't* look to the internet for accurate and in-depth information on a complex topic. That's what the library is for, and I'm lucky enough to have a community and a University library that are both about 5 minutes away.