E-mail in Libraries

[Burt, David]

Well, I guess I do need to back down a bit.  In my zeal to oppose
supporting e-mail in the library, I think I've probably come off as
pontificating as those who insist every library must support  e-mail.
Several public librarians on this list echoed the sentiment that our
users, not librarians, decide what our mission is, and how we spend our
time and money.  If they want e-mail accounts, we are obliged to provide
them.  I have to agree.

Public libraries are a place of great variation and experimentation.
I've heard of libraries doing all manner of strange and interesting
things.  Multnomah County (OR) has a Starbucks built into it.  Some
libraries circulate things like power tools, umbrellas,  and stuffed
animals.  Some offer classes in things like astral projection, some have
large collections of vanity press books and other weird things.

We allow people to talk out loud, to bring in their own food and drinks,
to sleep, to bring in videos and to  watch them on our VCR.  We have
stand-alone printers hooked up to all our PCs and terminals, all
printing is free, as is printing from our microfilm reader-printers.  We
circulate VCRs, TVs, and overhead projectors.  A lot of librarians find
some of these things to be stupid and a waste of money.

Experimentation is a good thing.  Otherwise, how would we ever find out
what works and what doesn't?  How will we know how if providing e-mail
or  outsourcing collection development are good things until they are
tried?  They are  being tried now, and we will find out.


  ***********************************************************
          David Burt, Information Technology Librarian 
          The Lake Oswego Public Library 
          706 Fourth Street, Lake Oswego, OR 97034
          URL:          http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/library/library.htm
          Phone:     (503) 675-2537 
          Fax:           (503) 635-4171 
          E-mail:      dburt at ci.oswego.or.us