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HuffPost interviewed Lafayette's geospatial services librarian about research traditions that have been eliminated by the internet
John Clark, geospatial services librarian, was quoted in an Oct. 3 HuffPost article about how the internet has done away with certain research traditions, such as paging through an encyclopedia or studying physical maps.
Fewer people are skilled in reading paper maps because of apps, said Clark, who helps faculty and students to use geospatial technology for mapping and data analysis.
“Phone apps, which are called maps, are not maps at all,” he said in the article. “They are only route-finding solutions. When we are lost, our phone does not tell us where we are. It only tells us the next turn to take. In other words, our phones are reading the map for us. In a very profound way, we are still lost.”