The Apple Library Closes

[Roy Tennant]

Today, September 23, the Apple Computer Library closed for good. 

I don't know many details, but I do know that some of the best librarians 
I know are leaving a company to whom they've given their best for well 
over a decade. Among them are librarians like Steve Cisler and Janet 
Vratny, who were early champions of the Internet within the library 
community. Among Steve's many accomplishments were the organization of  
conferences for community-based networking (e.g., Free-Nets) and the 
Apple Library of Tommorow (ALOT) Program. Janet Vratny traveled widely to 
participate in the development of technical specifications at meetings 
few librarians attended, and yet the results of which touch our work 
every day.

No message as brief as this can do justice to the contributions of our 
Apple Library colleagues, and in any case I am not the one to write it. I 
know of their work only as it has touched my work, although it has 
frequently and with significant impact. Monica Ertel, the incredible 
leader who created it and kept it together for so long, is probably the 
only one really qualified to write it. But for now this will have to do.

Forgive me if I cannot call to mind any group of colleagues I respect 
more than those who are now closing their doors in Cupertino, California. 
Please join me in wishing them the very best of luck in whatever they 
choose to do.
 
Roy Tennant