Since search engines on the Net are able to meet almost all the information needs, the need for alternative information sources is waning of late.

• Do you think the advent of search engines is a welcome development?
• How relevant are alternative information source in your opinion?

Search engines have a come long way, and it is welcome development in several different ways too. This, however, does not mean that conventional information sources are irrelevant. They do deserve their due.

How welcome are search engines? We can have countless instances to prove that information superhighways like Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia and the like are extremely relevant in humans. Let me city a few examples. Today, we can access information on virtually anything under the sun or of the cosmos itself by simply sitting in our personal spaces. The Net is so widely spread that it does not recognize time, space and borders.

If this is the case with sourcing information, the story is not different when it comes to spreading information. For example, today one is able to contribute information - audio, video and text - on anything to the already packed stockpile of search engines which, in turn, is accessed by millions of people across the world. So it is a welcome development indeed.

All the need for search engines notwithstanding, there is great need for alternative information sources too. They are as old as human life, and their role cannot be duped by anything. For example; traditional sources like scholars, books, libraries, archives, museums, zoos, universities, research centers, to mention a few, are inevitable in any society. Besides, basic human faculties like asking questions, raisings doubts, making consultations, seeking and finding things through personal efforts are very much part of all civilized human societies.

In short, it is clear that the advent of search engines is greatly welcome, and we cannot do without them. So is the case with alternative sources of information. The have been with us for ages and ages and, obviously, they need to be preserved.

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