Some of our libraries choose not to let the public use the internet because they have only one computer available and there is no room for the public to access it outside of the librarian’s desk. Also, the kids were coming in after school and mobbing the desk when they did let them use it, so they decided not to. There is no rule saying you MUST let the public use the internet in a library, and some just don’t have the space/money for public access. They will, however, look things up for the public and use internet for reference, just no public use.
Having spent so much time in IA over the past year I should have thought of this as I did meet several librarians with just a single computer in the building. As long as a library isn’t intentionally withholding Internet access I won’t complain.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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