Do librarians need basic HTML capabilities? -Reply

[Steve Cramer]

The Big Glee Bopper <thom at copper.ucs.indiana.edu>
Tuesday, June 18, 1996 "Being literate in a digital
environment means you have to be able to do  more than
click on links for true understanding ... you have to be able
 to program which is digital writing."
____________________________________
Yes, *some* librarians need to know HTML. For
example, librarians who teach classes about the Web or
teach Web search strategies need to understand the basis
of the Web, just as most catalogers need to be familiar
with AACR2 and MARC records.

Another thing to consider is the rise of
What-you-see-is-what-you-get HTML editors like
Netscape Navigator Gold, designed to make HTML
programming more transparent. Many people frown on
using such editors, but more and more people are going to
be creating Web pages without knowing any HTML.

Steve Cramer
Library, Davenport College of Business
Holland, Michigan USA
scramer at davenport.edu