Pro Librarians Help to Overcome Barriers

The Ithaca Journal
August 9, 2005
Lawrence Carey, Adult Services Librarian II

A primary goal of the Tompkins County Public library is provide information to people who need it, when they need it. The way in which professional librarians do that has changed dramatically in today’s information age.

In the past, instruction in using card catalogs to locate information within the library was the norm. Today, personal computers are required in order to access the riches of the information age. Computers enable people to access information quickly, efficiently and from anywhere in the world.

But simply providing patrons with access to computers is not enough; the skills and knowledge to use information technology are equally important. In order to benefit from all that a library has to offer, users must learn new skills.

While many patrons have considerable computer skills; many others do not. According to a 2003 study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, among the top reasons why Americans do not use the Internet is lack of skills or perceived lack of benefit. These lack of skills and fears about learning something new prevent full access to all that our library has to offer. If patrons are going to use library resources to their full potential, professional librarians must be prepared to guide them.

Librarians not only must make clear what information is available, but also where it is, how to access it, and how to evaluate the abundance of information that is available. A skillful reference interview is the first step to identifying what information is being sought by a patron, where the information is located, and if the patron has the skills to access this information on their own.

But the traditional reference interview must now be accompanied by teaching technology skills as well as addressing emotional barriers to Internet use and technology in general, such as fear or misconceptions about the level of difficulty involved.

Other challenges which librarians encounter involve teaching people with hearing or vision or other physical disabilities, which make it difficult to perform basic computer tasks. Helping our foreign language speaking patrons also requires skill and resources to overcome language differences while at the same time teaching new tasks. The professional experience and empathy of our librarians along with wonderful resources such as the ELVIS PC for the hard of seeing or hearing, the Rosetta Stone PC for teaching English to foreign speakers, and Spectrum magnifier for the hard of seeing all help to overcome barriers to learning.

Our library has seen no reduction in the demand for Internet access. Heavy use and high demand are the norm. While some users are self-sufficient in their quest for knowledge, more frequently computer-using patrons report that they ask librarians for help when they have a problem with library computers. As a result, the skill and efficiency of our librarians to give quality instruction to patrons personally and quickly becomes particularly important.

The many needs of patrons such as equipment and software failures, help in searching techniques, e-mail instruction, help with text and image problems on the Internet, guidance with word processing and spreadsheet programs, all require personalized one-on-one instruction. The experience and skills of our reference librarians enables them to customize their instruction to the level of our patrons skills and understanding.

In addition to immediate and personalized help, we offer group instruction in library workshops utilizing the library’s laptop training lab. This portable classroom is dedicated to teaching new computer skills to residents of our community to skillfully search the Internet and the library online catalog. The lab is comprised of 10 wireless laptop computers which can access the Internet anywhere in the library, or anywhere in the community where a wireless network or Internet connection is located.

A world of information is available to us all. But for this information to benefit our lives we must seek it, know where it is located, know how to access it and know how to evaluate it. The professional librarians at the Tompkins County Public Library are proud of our ability to reach out and give personalized and dedicated attention to each of our patrons, teaching lasting information skills that enrich our lives.