Blog Reflection #5

Accuracy is a subject that has come up in several of my library classes. More social interaction and sharing likes like Wikipedia are cropping up everywhere with a tendency to be more specialized in nature. It becomes hard to distinguish something authorative from a collection largely made up of people's opinions and what they think are facts (sometimes with supporting references sometimes not).

The Medical Library Association has a guide for determining credible health resources, which is important because many people may find it easier turn to the Internet to self diagnose then rely on a professional, especially when money is tight and many are uninsured. The MLA brings up a good point in that looking at the credibility of who produces the site that provides the information is a big factor to consider. In the case of health, accuracy could mean life or death if one is not careful! Other factors they stress to look for is how current the information is, clearly factual, and the proper audience for the website should be relatively apparent. I believe these factors pose equally true for any website regardless of subject.