Bell, Steven J. The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an AppetizingAlternative to Google. By: Bell, Steven J., Chronicle of Higher Education, 00095982, 2/20/2004, Vol. 50, Issue 24

In the article “The Infodiet” the author Steven J. Bell states that the search engine Google has become a major competitor in the fight for what young scholars use for research. In the past the preferred source of information was academic libraries now because it is easy to use and it can be done quickly many use Google not in addition to libraries but in many cases in place of. The author compares the mentality of “super size it” that many have used for fast food restaurants, also for the search for information. Like fast food and other junk food, information from Google can be considered “not good for you” because it provides you with lots of information that may not be correct and it is hard to digest, leading to “infobesity.” It is pointed out that search engines with similar search features are available in most libraries but these databases contain higher quality data but still the quality of student research is still declining. The author calls for help from librarians to help students and professors to stop students from relying on Google.
In the research for my history classes it is next to impossible to use Google except for Google scholar but I still have to use something else to read what I used Google to find. Most of my professors will not let me use an internet sources in any shape or form. Except if it is a copy of something that exists in print as well. I can not speak for other departments but I believe that very few in students pursuing a history major are suffering from “infobesity.”