And the winners of the MCI Cybrarian of the Year contest are 59 high-tech librarians representing a public library in each state. These individuals were selected according to their commitment to using technology to better serve their communities and their trailblazing efforts to provide technology to library patrons. Across the country, librarians like Sara Harvey at the Dallas Public Library are fast becoming innovators on the Internet and sharing the wonders of the World Wide Web with their communities. Through one of Harvey's Internet workshops, a local World War II veteran enrolled in Harvey's class, tracked down an old war buddy on the Internet, and arranged a reunion. Washington's Cybrarian, Michael Schuyler, extends his service beyond the Kitsap Regional Library by writing a regular column for Information Today, Inc.'s Computers in Libraries magazine.
Librarians serve a vital role in information technology.
All of the applicants combined technical skills with a real appreciation for the value of information in enriching people's daily lives. The new millennium is upon us in more ways than chronology. Since MCI LibraryLINK's launch in 1995, the proportion of Internet-connected libraries has increased from 21 percent to 80 percent nationwide. According to a recent MCI LibraryLINK study, Americans are accessing the World Wide Web more than ever, and, for most users, the public library is the number-one alternative point of access outside home, work, or school. The number of people who accessed the Internet from their public library increased 86 percent since January 1997.