 What's the deep web? And why the library? Brought to you by CSUSB's John M. Fowl Library. You've probably heard your professor say that you need to use the library for your research projects and papers. But have you ever stopped to ask why? There's plenty of information out there on the web. We all use Google to find directions to the nearest restaurant or music venue. So why can't we use that for our research as well? You see, often the types of resources our professors want us to use, like scholarly articles and books, cannot be found using popular search engines like Google. This is because the content that search engines retrieve, like email, Facebook, driving directions, recipes and blogs, represents only a small fraction of all of the information that's out there. We call this the open web because, well, it's free and openly available for anyone with internet access. The rest of the information out there, including most of the scholarly materials you are expected to use in college, live in what we call the deep web. There's a lot down there, but it's not free and open. Because scholarly information is more socially valued than, say, your grandmother's status updates, it costs money and is thus limited to those who can afford to access it. At this point, you might be thinking, okay, but what does any of this have to do with the library? Well, because universities and colleges know that you need access to information in the deep web, the library typically purchases it for you. Just as libraries have long-purchased books for people to borrow at little or no cost, we also purchase subscriptions to databases that give us access to the deep web. So, while you are in college and paying tuition, you are one of few who has access to this highly valued information. Others who aren't in college or who cannot afford to independently purchase information aren't so lucky. The next time a professor asks that you use library resources, you'll now know why. What they're saying is that they want you to dive into the deep web.