Librarians learn new tricks in digital age

If Google and a librarian had an informational smackdown, who would win? Many people champion Google, with its impressive number of results.

But research librarians say their powers have been unfairly dismissed in the online age. Not only can they outsmart Google’s dead ends and weaknesses, librarians say, but they can help people surf faster and smarter by showing them hidden databases and tricks.

In an age of clickable gratification, when books, articles and data are moving online, some people wonder whether librarians are relevant, said Leslie Burger, the immediate past-president of the American Library Association. But Burger said they are more necessary than ever. Read more about librarians’ evolving roles in The Houston Chronicle online.