It’s been more than 20 years since I finished my master’s degree and completed my thesis, which required sending away for copies of research articles and source materials through what we called interlibrary loans—a process that generally took several weeks. While the internet existed and we were using email, the thought we would access serious research online was unthinkable in my academic circles. There was skepticism about just how useful and reliable that tool was for serious information. Yet today, it’s a ubiquitous part of every academician’s toolbox, allowing near instantaneous access to peer-reviewed journal articles or scanned copies of obscure texts residing in foreign libraries. It’s still critical to have good research skills, but the way those skills are used has changed. In the same way, we’ve seen aspects of technology make their way in O&P from interesting, but not practical ideas, to mainstream tools.
