Free Internet Resources — Who Can You Trust?

Whenever I hear someone talking with persuasive intent about information they “found on the internet,” the prickles at the back of my neck go up. This confidence invites a closer look at the website. This may seem cynical but you have probably heard the phrase, “lies, d--mn-d lies, and statistics.”Growing up it was not unusual during dinner table conversations to hear my father, a statistician, illustrate how someone had used numbers to draw faulty conclusions and mislead people.

There are many excellent, free sites on the web. You may find exactly what you need as you search...but if you aren't familiar with a site, take the time to play detective and find out who or what lies behind them. Are they trustworthy?

Several libraries have pulled together evaluative criteria and checklists to evaluate web resources. Take a look at what Cornell has to say about “Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency, and Coverage.” Southwestern Oregon Community College  goes with a more standard, “Who, What, When, Where and Why?”

We are confident that the subscription databases we offer through the library’s website are good quality and provide excellent resources for your research. It's also possible that you may be seeking information that is available in its most current form on the web. Government agencies, academic institutions, and private foundations all offer wonderful, yet sometimes hidden treasures on the web. Seek and ye shall find!

Random examples

The Dictionary of North American Hymnology

Minnesota Digital Collections: Search this collection for 48 images of Luther Seminary buildings, faculty and students. 

ELCA archives

Wabash Center's Internet Guide to Religion

Luther Seminary Archives: The Prodigal Son art collection (High-quality JPEG images) are available for educational use to anyone with a Luther Seminary login.

Luther Seminary has www.EntertheBible.org  and www.workingpreacher.org

Academic digital repositories:

UCLA’s The Encyclopedia of Egypt

Yale Divinity's digital image collections

Harvard Divinity

— JKB

 

This image comes from Wordle—a fun way to create word clouds out of text you've written. It's an interesting compromise between image and text.

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