Coordinator of the Librarians’ Index to the Internet.
kgs@bluehighways.com
Column for May 2002
Bummed out by CIPA, e-rate, busted budgets, or patrons fighting over computers? Refresh your appreciation for the amazing electronic world with these stories in response to my online request for “favorite things about the Internet.”
The Internet has added a special dignity for librarians in branches and small rural libraries. It’s a great day when you can “get patrons the information . . . rather than having to send them down to the main library,” explained Ellen Kardy of the District of Columbia Public Library. Ruth Hartman of the Ventura County (Calif.) Library Services Agency, agreed, reminiscing, “Oh, the hours we spent, before Internet, trying to figure how to beef up small libraries’ reference collections without space or money!”
Sandy Nozick of Greeley, Colorado, commented, “What I love is making my job interesting to my own kids, who think I have the most deadly boring job in the universe.” Thomas Hennen of Hennen’s Index notoriety praised clever new e-zines such as Ex Libris, Library Juice, and LIS News, while Amy Lapointe of Goffstown (N.H.) Public Library exulted over “enabling patrons to place holds or renew items, through a Web-based OPAC, from the comforts of their own home or office.”
Yet many readers pointed out that some of the best capabilities are also the simplest. As Jill Patterson put it, “state tax forms are online!” John Richmond of Alpha Park Public Library District in Bartonville, Illinois, witnessed to the value of lists and e-mail: “I find it immensely helpful to have a bunch of real people who are willing to exchange ideas, make suggestions, and all that.” Kelly R. McBride of Russell County (Va.) Public Library concurred: “Easy, free, and regular communication. Can you beat it?”
Then again, what feel like routine search skills for us can be magic for patrons who “couldn’t find it on the Internet,” commented Victoria Dow of West Chester (Pa.) Public Library. J. Sara Paulk of the Tifton–Tift County (Ga.) Public Library touted the alchemy of “poetry searching on the Internet,” once such a challenge if you didn’t know a first line or title. Miriam Bobkoff of Santa Fe (N.Mex.) Public Library pointed out that “When an old friend far away e-mails me for readers’ advisory . . . I purely lo-o-ove being able to check the catalog of their local library and tell them that the book is on the shelf right there where they are!”
Service to the underserved is a special joy for many librarians. Marian H. Griffin of West Melbourne (Fla.) Public Library told me that she likes “knowing that we provide Internet, e-mail, and word processing to people who cannot afford or do not want a PC in their home,” a sentiment echoed by Hollis McCright of the Howard County (Tex.) Library, who also mentioned “travelers who stop in and use our terminals to check their e-mail.”
Sometimes we are those travelers. Patricia Froehlich, public libraries consultant for the Colorado State Library, remembered that “During a recent relocation from the New Mexico State Library to the Colorado State Library and consequently being without e-mail for a month, my absolutely favorite thing was that I could go to the Denver Public Library and log on.”
Service to seniors, connecting families—libraries and the Internet are a natural. Kelly Martinez of Hermiston (Ore.) Public Library shared, “I love it when mother and daughter come in together and look up recipes.” Charles Parker of the State Library of Florida said, “You’ve never seen a happier bunch of people than a computer lab full of 70+ year olds learning to mouse and e-mail.”
Part of the joy of library service is “being there” for great moments. Dianne Harmon of Joliet (Ill.) Public Library told me, “I will never forget the look on one gentleman’s face when he exchanged e-mail for the first time with his daughter in California and found out he was going to be a grandfather.” Monica Reed of Safety Harbor (Fla.) Public Library told me, “My favorite thing would have to be the proud grandfather asking for help to print a picture of his newborn grandbaby.”
Two gizmos were singled out. First, there’s our new best friend, Google. Julie James of Thomasville (N.C.) Public Library commented that she could write a “love story” about Google, a sentiment echoed by Jurate Burns of the Destin (Fla.) Library. GraceAnne DeCandido of Blue Roses Consulting described her joy at “being able to search, on Google, for ‘Elven leaf brooch’ from the Lord of the Rings movie and find a source to buy one of my very own.”
My personal favorite thing? Kalamazoo (Mich.) Public Library downloads audio books in Audible format on demand, and circulates them on MP3 players. The part that really struck me was not the format, but the rationale. Their Web site explains: “We can get new bestsellers and select titles . . . within minutes.” This is classic Marvin Scilken—the late librarian, activist, and publisher who frequently boasted that if his library didn’t own a title a patron requested, he would go down the street and buy it.
We put books in patrons’ hands, connect family members, share small moments in people’s lives, and astound people with what is to us such routine activity. Librarianship is a wonderful calling, and despite the challenges, we are fortunate to be part of it: Stop, listen, see, and enjoy.