Bottom Line on Electronic Libraries

[Margaret F. Riley]

At 07:21 PM 9/19/96 -0700, you wrote:
>
>This is strange reasoning at best.  Why do you need 1 staff person for
>every 20 Web surfers?  On what possible study was this based?  At my
>university, we have hundreds of Web surfers happily clicking away in labs
>with barely one or two helpers available and they don't seem to get too
>upset about it.  One of the main reasons for the Web's popularity is that
>even mere novices seem to get the hang of it quickly.

I think for one thing there is a marked difference in computer familiarity
and comfort among those on college and university campuses and those
people found using the resources of the local public library.   I remember
reading a recommendation from an instruction group in RASD (sorry,
can't remember if that's their name now) that recommended a maximum 10:1
ratio of students to trainers for hands-on instruction of computer-based
systems.  Having done a tremendous amount of training on various aspects
of the Internet, I tell my hosts that I prefer a 6:1 ratio and ask for as many
"wanderers" as I can get.

In the case of NYPL providing public access to the Internet, I applaud their
recognition that people will need assistance.  Many users have never even
learned to type, and even in our wonderful windows-based GUI atmospheres
there is still some of that going on.  

Remember that we have a double learning curve happening on the Internet.  
First, you have to figure out how to use the Internet, including how to log
on and start up a browser or other application.  Then you can begin to learn
how to navigate it.  These 2 activities may happen at the same time, but they
rarely progress at the same rate and one can't happen without the other.

Margaret

Margaret F. Riley
Internet Consultant		 The Riley Guide
3726 Nimitz Road		 http://www.jobtrak.com/jobguide/
Kensington, MD  20895-1700	 mfriley at erols.com
(301) 946-1917		 mfriley at ultranet.com
          ########################################
"The Guide to Internet Job Searching" by Margaret Riley,
 Frances Roehm, and Steve Oserman.  VGM Career Horizons,
 April 1996.   1-800-323-4900