Internet in Libraries

[Douglas Cornwell]

On Thu, 27 Feb 1997, Earl Young wrote:

>      You cannot get it for free.  You provide the information at no 
>      immediate cost to the user in most cases, but that doesn't mean 
>      "free."  It's subsidized.  Someone is paying salaries, rent, 

I agree there is a cost somewhere.  However, what I am talking about is 
information being accessible free of charge to people.  Something that 
libraries have done in this country since Benjamin Franklin's time.

And from my own personal experience not only as a librarian, but as a 
library user, I can tell you that I have a 386 machine at home with a 
small hard drive and a small amount of RAM.  I could not possibly do the 
Internet on that machine.  I would truly like to upgrade and get 
something that could handle the Internet (I mean, I use AOL now, but 
accessing the Internet on my computer is truly awful).  I 
just am unable to afford to do so.  And beyond that, once I did use the 
Internet, I would regularly be paying for monthly Internet access (I am 
using AOL free now and do not intend to continue).  I don't even 
subscribe to cable television, but have put up an antenna.  So, the 
library is very valuable for me and the amount that goes to pay for the 
library through taxes is very small compared to what I would be paying 
every time someone nickel and dimed me on the Internet!  Without cable 
TV, I can get CNN on the Internet free - without the high costs that 
cable companies charge.  And the thing of it is, there are so many people 
that are worse off than I am.  They don't even have a 386!  

So, why not continue to provide these services for people to access this
information and you can do a more complete job in a library than entirely
on the Internet.  I have had students come to me knowing somthing they 
are looking for, but not having the correct word to do the search.  
Resources in the library help us tackle that.  What if someone is looking 
for information that may not be on the Internet?  What if someone wants 
to go back further years than what is covered on the Internet?  What 
about the question of credibility?  I downloaded an article on toilet 
training my child from the Internet.  It was on a real nice site, but how 
do I know the article is coming from a credible source? 

Why upset the apple cart.  Libraries have been doing what they are doing 
very well for several centuries now.  And it has been offered so that 
both haves and have nots have been able to share equally in the 
information that is provided to our society.



>      utilities, subscriptions, etc.  The LA Times, and other providers, may 
>      be greedy for wishing to be paid for their work - but that is hardly 
>      an attempt to pull the rug from under libraries.  Just because it's 
>      hidden in a tax somewhere doesn't mean libraries get anything for 
>      free.  If you are a volunteer and accept no compensation for your 
>      time, I apologize.  You obviously would then be into the "free" thing, 
>      and my assertion would not be valid.
>      
>      
> 
> 
> ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
> Subject: Internet in Libraries
> Author:  dougc at pb.seflin.org at INTERNET
> Date:    2/27/97 9:07 AM
> 
> 
> I have to relate an experience I had while helping one of our students on 
> the Internet in our library.  I was showing him how to access newspapers 
> on the web.  Specifically, he was interested in reading articles in the 
> Los Angeles Times as the topic he was researching involved California.  
> As we accessed the L.A. Times and found the "Archives" for the L.A. 
> Times, we noted on the screen that it said, "You will no longer need to 
> go to the Library."  The student noticed it and made the comment that "I 
> don't know why they would say that because I come to the library all the 
> time to use these computers and the Internet."  I agreed with him.
>      
> We proceeded to locate some articles on the L.A. Times in their archives 
> and he was about to retrieve the full text when I brought to his 
> attention that there was a notice about having to pay a cost to get the 
> article.  We talked about how we bet that he would have to use his credit 
> card to get it.  I told him, however, he could get the article through 
> our library (we don't have it, but we can get it through interlibrary 
> loan) free of charge.
>      
> It has occurred to me that perhaps our providing it free of charge is part 
> of the problem.  There are so many people out there seeing that the 
> Internet is for making money that they resent the age-old library premise 
> that we can get it free!  Therefore, that is what is prompting such 
> statements as what I saw on the L.A. Times.  Obviously, they are unhappy 
> that a library can get the article at no charge.  Yet, isn't that what we 
> have been doing for decades?  Why, all of a sudden do people want to pull 
> out the rug beneath us?  Greed.  They want to make money off the Internet 
> and as long as libraries exist, we can block their way.
>      
> I believe there are those that cannot always afford all the expensive 
> gagetry it takes to use the Internet and since the library has always 
> provided information for those unable to buy the very best, why shouldn't 
> we continue to provide the information free in this age of the Internet 
> and computers?
>      
> Just my two cents (sense?) worth.
>      
> Doug Cornwell
>      
>      
> Douglas Cornwell
> dougc at pb.seflin.org
>      
>      
>