[WikiEN-l] The vexed issue of sources

[Michael Snow]

Daniel P. B. Smith wrote:

>> From: Ken Arromdee <arromdee at rahul.net>
>>
>> How exactly is the writing on the wall different from a book?   
>> (Sure, not
>> every Wikipedian can go read the writing, but not every Wikipedian  
>> has access
>> to a particular book either.)
>
> ... my library's  interlibrary loan network.
>
> Actually if my library can't get it...
>
> ...the Boston Public Library, the Commonwealth's  "library of last 
> resort." The Boston Public Library has fourteen  million volumes...
>
> ...interlibrary loan networks are not unique to my region of the U. S.
>
> ...sent to me by interlibrary loan.
>
> Reference librarians are very accommodating...

Libraries are wonderful things, but a scholar who believes that "the sum 
of all human knowledge" is to be found in the library alone is like a 
medieval monk who believes that the same is to be found only in the 
monastery. Though I think a more serious concern for our project is 
those people who limit themselves to what's available on the Web.

I worry that the demand for "easy verifiability" in our culture is too 
strong, fueled by contributors too lazy to look beyond the first page of 
results in a Google search. Fact-checking is work, and while we 
shouldn't make it unnecessarily onerous, there's no need to be 
apologetic if it does in fact require real effort. We need to expect 
more such effort, and we would have better articles and less of the 
donated junk from people cleaning out their mental closets of 
misremembered trivia.

Some people seem to have misconceptions about this. For example, a 
source in a foreign language is not unverifiable for lack of a 
translation. In the end, you can always learn the language (unless it's 
something not yet deciphered, like [[Indus script]]). Similarly, even if 
a source cannot be brought to you, it could still be verifiable if you 
can go to the source - literally, not just as a figure of speech. It's 
the possibility of access that makes something verifiable, not the 
medium, ease, or breadth of distribution.

> I don't think I  could ask the Penn reference librarian to go there 
> and take a  snapshot of it for me. (Although you never know, and I 
> admit that I  haven't actually tried).

Is a snapshot of a wall plaque different because it's taken by a 
reference librarian as opposed to a Wikipedian?

--Michael Snow