The Internet is often viewed as a giant online repository for information – an alternative, of not a replacement for conventional hard-copy resources. However, it is more, in that it provides new ways of finding and presenting information. It should be a boon to research, but is it? Well, the answer is yes, but there are qualifications – pitfalls for the unskilled searcher and uncritical reader. There are questions regarding long term preservation of online sources, and then there are more subtle issues. For instance, digitising a manuscript or photographic archive can eliminate wear and tear of fragile originals, and make them more readily available. However, once digitised, there is a danger that the role of the original archives and their archivists is diminished, if not threatened. I will outline the issues involved, using case studies from folklore, as a prelude to an exchange of our personal experiences with the Web.