[WEB4LIB] Re: Citation creation code?

[Elizabeth Thomsen]

In response to Steve's citation rant, which began this way:
> Regarding citations themselves...ahh, the fun territory that is
> citations. I've often found that from experience and stories related
> from teachers/library staff that students do not have the necessary
> information to cite properly...

I agree with what Steve says, and especially his list of the overly
casual if not blatantly dishonest ways that students make up for the
deficiencies in their research and notetaking.    

But though it's easy for us to shake our heads at these lazy and
ill-prepared undergraduates (these kids today!) we should remember that
this is a problem at all levels.  In recent years, Doris Kearns Goodwin,
Stephen Ambrose, Charles Ogletree and other well-known authors have had
to admit to failings in their published work.   

I just read Richard Pollak's "The Making of Dr. B.," a biography of Bruno 
Bettelheim, which is interesting to read just from the point of view of
scholarly lapses, failure to cite, and overt deceptions, and how easy it
can be to get away with this!  

Librarians and others worry over the accuracy and authority of
information found online, but I think we all need to be just as careful
about print resources of all kinds, and not assume that editors and
publishers are subjecting texts to a rigorous fact and citation checking.

-- 
Elizabeth Thomsen, Member Services Manager
NOBLE: North of Boston Library Exchange
Danvers MA 01923
et at noblenet.org