Something Missing (Was Re: anatomy of a netscam)

[C. W. Tazewell]

                One Little Thing That is Missing

Hey, John Hogle et al,
     The discussions on Web4Lib are very interesting and constructive - 
most worthwhile for professional librarians and information specialists.  
But there is one little thing missing.
     There is a world of difference between knowledgeable and 
professional Internet users on one hand, and the general public and 
typical student on the other.  These are these two vastly different 
types of users.  We must acknowledge it, accept it, and use it in dealing 
with and training people in each category.
     John, in his message (below), is talking about the professional 
category such as library science students, teachers, etc.  He states that 
"Unfortunately, the vast majority (95%-plus???) of neophyte Web users 
have little understanding of the mechanisms and the intents of the 
visible artifacts of Web pages and browsers...."  The library science 
students, teachers, etc., can and should learn, BUT ...
     The Internet is a cultural revolution.  The world will never be the 
same.  It is affecting municipal and national boundaries, and every 
aspect of our life.  The Internet is comparable to the Industrial
Revolution.
     We are on the threshold of widespread use by the average person of 
the Internet.
     WE MUST ADAPT THE INTERNET TO THE PEOPLE, NOT TRY TO TRAIN EVERYBODY 
TO BE A WEB SURFER.  The Internet must be point and click with a TV-type 
remote.  Of course, the professional information specialists need to be 
trained as web surfers to work with and assist the public and students.
     There needs to be an "interface" - a buffer -  between the Internet 
and the public.  It is called the local/community/metropolitan/regional
digital library.  It will serve the dual purpose of bringing in and
organizing the world's information, and presenting the local information
to the world.  We need to develop a suitable indexing and organizing
scheme for this "person-to-Internet interface" (point and click) so
that Jack and Jill and Little Joey can get what they want easily,
quickly and conveniently - no confusion and frustration.
     Now the librarian is "the interface" between the library user
and the vast amounts of material in and out of the library.  The
local digital library will serve the same purpose when an Internet
user logs on from his home or office.  Without the local digital
library the Internet is like having a self-service library without
any library staff around at all!  That would be fun!!  Try it - no
one will like it.
     Soon the Internet (local digital library) will come to most homes 
and businesses by 24-hour fiber-optic cable.  It will be the key element 
in the digital entertainment center which will include the digital TV, 
VCR, and stereo - likely all part of the Internet.
     A good example of the future is at the Ruffner Middle School in 
Norfolk, Va. USA.  They have about 350 computers connected to the 
Internet by fiber-optic cable.  They have a thousand students and over 
six-dozen teachers.  Sitting them at their computers is like putting them 
in the cockpit of an actual space ship, and saying, "Take me to Mars!"  A 
suitable, proper "interface" (local digital library/media center) will 
make the Internet effective for them.
     A university scholar working on a project of use of the WWW in 
Education said she laughed her head off when she heard that the Internet 
was supposed to work like magic for these students.
     More info is at "The Internet in the Year 2000" -
          http://users.visi.net/~cwt/inet2000.html
     We have two kinds of people - the general public and typical 
student, and the knowledgeable and expert Internet users and information 
professionals.  Shall we recognize this - or find out the hard way?
     Sm:)es,
                 Bill.
    -----------------------------------------------------------
          Will print and libraries survive the Internet?
                 The Hampton Roads Central Library
             (You don't drive to it; you point to it.)
                Your *REASON* to have the Internet
Front Entrance                E A S Y   L I N K S - Your WWW Hotlist
http://wwwp.exis.net/~cwt/    http://www.infi.net/~cwt/easylink.html


On Tue, 9 Jul 1996, John Hogle wrote:

>     ...    Unfortunately, the vast majority (95%-plus???) of neophyte
> Web users have little understanding of the mechanisms and the intents of
> the visible artifacts of Web pages and browsers.  I know this well because
> over the last year I have introduced many fellow library science students
> and others to Web search tools, including search engines and hierarchical
> directories.  Over the past four weeks I have done so with some staff and
> a number of visiting teachers at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. 
> 
> None of these are stupid people. They are well-educated, capable, and
> interested in the potential of the Internet and want to use it.  The
> problem is that the Web and the Internet are a radically different set of
> information mechanisms and practices than most new users are familiar
> with....
> 
> As information specialists we better understand the nature of the use and
> misuse of information media.  I am not worried about our ability to sort
> out the valid from the crap.  I am, though, worried about some people I
> come across who think $2.95 an hour for AOL is a good (if not only) deal,
> Packard Bell PCs are a good buy, and their favorite politicians don't
> compromise their ideals. We need to ensure that the public understands
> that information tools, whether in the local library or on the Net, can be
> misused, can mislead, may not be what they imply they are.
> 
> Cheers,  John Hogle / reference librarian, Exploratorium
>                       jhogle at wahoo.sjsu.edu / jhogle at exploratorium.edu
> -----------------------------------------------------------------