As much as I use Google on a daily basis, there are a few products I haven't used or explored. So this exercise was the perfect opportunity to check out something new in the Google realm. I somewhat reluctantly decided to check out Google Books. I am not fully sold on the idea of digital books. I believe they can be a useful addition to print books but by no means do I believe that only digital versions should exist. I think the lack of true ownership as well as the tactile experience of the physical book are key missing elements in digital forms. But that being said, I do think that digitalized forms of books, magazines and documents are an important research tool and can be a valuable asset in the library. I started exploring Google Books and was very quickly hooked. The back issues of magazines have clear color pictures and the text is clear and easy to read. The books have color cover images and story summaries and links to various sites to purchase. It is definitely an application I will use again.
I also decided to explore Google Earth. This is a very fascinating and addictive tool for looking at cities, buildings and maps of anywhere! You can check out your own city or street or look at a city across the globe. This is great to show kids in a school library or to show anyone in a public library. This is a tool that can help people explore places they would never be able to see otherwise. I will be spending a lot more time with Google Earth!
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