In the Harry Potter universe was there an easy way to search for information? It seems like any time the trio wants to know something, Hermione either just knows it or runs to the library. In the first book, however, they search for who Nicolas Flamel is but have a very hard time finding this information. Us muggles have the Internet and can find information quite quickly using the right tools. Is there any evidence that wand carriers have an easy way to search for information?
Answer
Electronics do not work at Hogwarts, per (who else?) Hermione in Goblet of Fire, so there would be no possibility of laptops or the Internet there.
An easy way that's akin to the Internet? No, I don't think so. At least canon doesn't demonstrate a way, as far as I can recall. If one knows exactly what they're searching for, they can summon it (I don't know if that's possible under all circumstances). Hermione summoned Secrets of the Darkest Art from Dumbledore's office, but she knew exactly what she was looking for. Originally I had said that if Hermione summoned "that, you know, book that talks about Horcruxes," I wouldn't know if the book would have come to her. However, Kevin pointed out that Hermione summoned the book as part of a group, so it is possible to do a general summoning.
As far as the library goes, there must be something akin to a card catalogue to help students find books by subject matter, author, or title. Madam Pince knows a lot, as well.
In Potterverse, it seems a lot of information is gathered through lore, by one person telling another the answer to their question. There are infinite examples of this in canon. Ron and Harry asking Hagrid about the Chamber of Secrets, for example, or Hermione asking Professor Binns about the same.
There are other ways to gather information in Potterverse, however slow and rudimentary the methods may seem.
The Pensieve stores memories that anyone can review.
Priori Incantato forces a wand to reveal the last spell it has performed (or, in the case of Voldemort, more than just one spell when Priori Incantatem occurred between his and Harry's wands in Goblet of Fire)
Veritaserum forces the person under its effects to answer questions truthfully.
The Hall of Prophecies shows us that prophetic information can be retrieved by the person about whom the prophecy is made.
Information is discovered by happenstance -- for example, when the trio figured out R.A.B. stood for Regulus Arcturus Black.
Letters seem to be important information-wise in Potterverse. Harry finds part of his mother's letter to Sirius in Sirius's bedroom, which gives him information about his background as well as hinting at Dumbledore's dark past.
Eavesdropping -- Extendable Ears!
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