E-mail in libraries

[JOSEPH MAXIMILLIAN MURPHY]

It seems to me that 2 different scenarios are being discussed in this thread,
and I wanted to try briefly to untangle them.

The broadest question is whether libraries should be "providing e-mail
access." If we define "providing" as acting like an ISP (i.e. piggybacking
personal e-mail accounts with the library's Internet access), then I think the
answer is generally not. There have been plenty of good points made about 
this; personally, the issue of taking on the amount of user support required 
to do it well rings true with me. Libraries should not be primary-level 
telecom service providers, IMO.

On the other hand, I thought this conversation started by asking about
recommending sites like HotMail or Rocketmail: free, web-based e-mail. I
maintain that the problems in this situation are entirely different than the
problems of actively maintaining user accounts. There is, of course, the issue
of the library giving backing to a commercial enterprise, and the fact that
libraries may still be called on to "support" users of those sites. Still it
seems to me that those sites are available information resources of which we
are all aware. If the library already provides Web access, how do you defend
not telling people about those sites in response to a direct question? Isn't
that kind of like knowing that there's a particular tool in the Reference room
that would help users, but not telling people about it because they'll just 
tie it up?

Just wanted to try and split those two issues,
-Joe Murphy            "Sometimes you just have to look reality in the face
murphyj at cua.edu         and deny it."
                           -- Garrison Keillor