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Approved-By:  Diane Kovacs <DKOVACS@KENTVM.KENT.EDU>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.libref-l
Date:         Sat, 23 Jan 1993 15:08:22 EDT
From:         Timothy Tyndall <rain%phaedrus.ece.ucsb.edu@Kentvm.Kent.edu>
Subject:      Re: Use of the Internet in reference service
Comments: To: libref-l@kentvm.kent.edu

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
My experience as a network manager / online systems trainer for
both city/county libraians and county teachers in the K-12 group
has been very much the same -  technophobia was sort of a funny
notion for many years and those of us working with the introduction
of various levels of computer resource integration into the
libraries and schools grew accoustomed to running into anything
from hostility and fear to annoyance -

But as we experience the tremendous steps being taken by the
Internet community and all we expect with the evolution f the
NII and the NREN it is becoming increasingly necessary to develop
really dynamic education techniques to bring in hesitant or
dis-interested professionals -  the Information resources available
for our young students and for the general public in the public
libarary environment through the Internet provide the only way to
continue to improve the level of education/service we are providing
in a time of continual budget cuts -

And budgets aside,  the inability of Information Professionals,
whether they are educators, librarians or private information
professionals, to embrace the tremendous resurces available through
computer networks places limits on the people they serve that
are not acceptable limits -

Integration of the printing press as a public information resource
no doubt grated against many scribes and such when it was first
invented - but the impact on culture by the invention of the
printing press was inevitable and the same holds true with the
inventon of computer network based public information resources
such as the Internet

Timothy Tyndall
Director
Santa Barbara Regional Access Information Network
Internet:  rain@phaedrus.ece.ucsb.edu

On Thu, 21 Jan 1993, Larry Schankman wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> I also agree that use of Internet can be helpful at the reference desk; we
> have a dumb terminal, but with access to the net I can plug into other
> databases, or catalogs of large libraries (hence no need to leave the desk
> to run to OCLC just to identify a title), or dig up hard to find document
> files (just yesterday I found a same-day copy of Clinton's inaugural
> address).
>
> However, we all know that, that's why we're on this discussion list! What
> I would rather comment on is the negative side of the coin: staff, and
> unfortunately, management _resentment_ towards those of us who *do* use
> the Internet for finding those same reference needs to which they would
> just assume, and eagerly so, decline to pursue (too obscure or too
> inconvenient).
>
> Though I shouldn't generalize, I have found among many fellow librarians
> not only an unwillingness and/or fear of emerging technologies and
> electronic sources of information, but even, as a defense, hostility towards
> those pesky *computer types* who perhaps pose a direct threat to their
> sense of security, if not their livelihood.
>
> I've also sensed from some a belief that perusal of the net is play
> time and not appropriate for official library time (which is why I
> usually do my networking at home or during lunch).
>
> Am I paranoid, or have others experienced the same?
>
> Larry Schankman
> Valdosta State College
>
> P.S.  Sorry if I turn the discussion off track.
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