We have all heard the term "virtual" this and "virtual" that in the media. So just what does this mean? Simply, it refers to Learning to Explore Library Collections
the materials in and the activities that take place in "cyberspace" (the vague term indicating the "place" where people interact using computer networks.) The Internet is considered cyberspace.
Since we are focusing on information literacy, let's look at the concept of a virtual library. Virtual libraries are collections of materials not confined by walls or buildings. More and more information is being published in an electronic format. For example, you can read articles on the computer screen (or print a copy for yourself) from the New York Times, Black Issues in Higher Education, Business Week, or the Greensboro News and Record. You can go to government agencies and view reports, legislation, statistics and publications such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook. You can find literary works published on the Internet, like the Shakespeare Web site discussed in the last module. These are only a few examples of full-text information sources.
But, even with the advent of electronic publishing on the Web, much of the information is still published in print format (like a book) and housed in actual (as opposed to virtual) libraries. So understanding the way libraries are organized and knowing how to locate books, magazines or audio-visual materials is still necessary. That's the bad news. The good news is you can search most library catalogs electronically, including your local public library, your University library, and libraries around the world.
In this module, we will search online library catalogs. Once you find what you need, it's a simple matter to access material through your library.
