[charcircuit]

The internet is much better than a library. I've gone to the library a handful of times and the information there typically pales in component to the information that can be found on the internet. The internet also has videos too which can help explain concepts. Books in a library are typically old too. Good luck finding a book about some new piece of software that came out.

[brimble]

I've found the opposite: it's often even hard to find out that some piece of knowledge might exist on the Internet.

I think it might(?) be better for math and things like that, but dig into social sciences or history or whatever, and often at a surprisingly shallow level you're going to have to go find some real books. eBooks fill some of the gap, but lots aren't there. Some stuff is rare (very niche) and can't even be found in newly-printed books, let alone online—used books and libraries are it. Some special collections—again, without even digging that deep, sometimes—become necessary and would require international travel to pursue (depending on where you live).

It's not hard to poke around a decent used book store or university library and find information that's simply nowhere online.

[jacobolus]

> often at a surprisingly shallow level you're going to have to go find some real books.

Google scholar + sci-hub is astoundingly deep.

Plenty of rare old books can’t be found online, but there are also plenty which can if you learn where to look and spend some time hunting.

[the_af]

The tactile experience of a library or even a bookstore cannot be replicated by the internet or ebooks.

It is indeed something wondrous for little kids... and adults.

[tacLog]

Sure, I don't go to libraries to find anything about code or even computers. I go to find old fantasy series and enjoy the physicality of the library.

I would say the internet is almost always better at everything non-fiction for adults. But I am talking about 4-8 year olds here mostly, and by extension anyone older that wants some of the library experience.

[reaperducer]

Why would you limit yourself to the information that is on the internet when the vast majority of the world's information (and music, and video, etc.) is elsewhere?

[charcircuit]

because I'm not interested in that information

[reaperducer]

How do you know if you haven't seen it?

[shuntress]

Really, the libraries' contents are just a significantly more difficult-to-search part of the deep web.