the sound of silence

[Miriam Bobkoff]

Thanks to Bill&Melinda we will soon (finally!) be increasing the number of
internet PCs we have for the public. Gates grant machines are rolling
towards New Mexico, and not a moment too soon.

Maybe it's because our old machines are so old they make a lot of noise, but
the prospect of adding several machines' worth of additional humming out on
the floor is worrying some of the staff. One of our branches is establishing
a homework center with 8 of the Gates machines on one side of their main
open space, and they're _really_ worried. Even someone like me who basically
loves our machines :-) , every last buzzing one of them, cannot but notice
and enjoy the wave of silence which moves across the Main Library floor as I
shut everything down at closing time.

Are we missing something obvious here? Is everyone else magically silencing
their beasts?

Miriam Bobkoff                        mbobkoff at ci.santa-fe.nm.us
Santa Fe Public Library
145 Washington Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 984-6832     The Library's Page  http://www.ci.santa-fe.nm.us/sfpl/