Do you even need to be using the Library? Isn't everything you need available free on the Web?
The short answer is that no, everything you need is not available free on the Web, and this is true particularly if you're looking for Health Sciences information. This is true for several reasons.
Information is a commodity that is bought and sold, just like any other commodity, and Health Sciences information is some of the most expensive information around. The Library, through its book collection, online full-text journal subscriptions, and other resources, has paid for this information for you.
It is true that more and more reputable Health Sciences information is being made available on the Web, but, often, this is only after a "publishing embargo"--that is, only older information is made available free on the Web. Often, this older, free information is also edited and abridged, with important illustrations, links, and other content being removed, before it is made accessible to everyone. Libraries must still pay for complete, up-to-date information, and you must still go through the Library to access it.
Another example is PubMed, an online database from the National Library of Medicine which is provided free on the Web. Compare this with MEDLINE access through EBSCOhost, which the Library pays for: you'll find that the version the Library pays for offers you a lot of search tools and features--such as direct links to full-text journal articles the Library provides--that the free, public version on the Web does not.
You also have to be especially careful of any information you find on the Web. Anyone can put anything up on the Web, and, if you are relying on the Web for your research, the burden is entirely on you to make sure that the information you are using is correct.
You need to critically evaluate everything you find.
