[WikiEN-l] The vexed issue of sources

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

> Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 22:06:50 -0800
>
> Is a snapshot of a wall plaque different because it's taken by a
> reference librarian as opposed to a Wikipedian?
>
> --Michael Snow

Well, that was a jocular aside, my point being that the wall plaque  
is very significantly harder for me to obtain than any of fourteen  
million-odd books in my state's "library of last resort."

But in fact there _is_ an _obvious_ difference, and it is much the  
same difference that exists between a contributor to the Britannica  
or _Nature_ or the New York Times. A reference librarian is a) a  
known person with a known real-world identity, with b) professional  
credentials and a code of ethics. (One to which, of course, an  
individual librarian may or may not adhere).