Students use of search engines -Reply

[David L. King]

>      I fully and wholeheartedly agree with Gail Wanner.  We should not 
> *try* to adapt students and the public to the Internet; we should adapt
> the Internet to them.  When students generally, and the general public,
> start using the Internet with the "Network Computer" Internet Appliance,
> they will want it to be easy and convenient using a TV remote - point
> and press.

I agree to a certain extent, but this view leaves out the practical, 
day-to-day operation of a library. For example, we're getting people at 
the reference desk almost every day who want to know how to use WWW 
search engines - should I teach them how, or should I instead call up 
Lycos and complain that their search engine is difficult to use? Probably 
both, but I think you see my point. This isn't an "either/or" issue.


		**************************************************
			David King
			Electronic Services Librarian
			University of Southern Mississippi
			dlking at ocean.st.usm.edu
			http://ocean.st.usm.edu/~dlking/
		**************************************************