Thing #11

Technology. Kind of like a husband - - Can't live with it, can't live without it (at times)! Seriously, I think technology weighs heavier on the pro side than the con side. Our lives have become dependent upon technology. I've recently spent some time in various doctors' offices, enough to witness that technology is imbedded in every part of our lives. Medical records without technology? Kind of scary!

Our library is automated, has 8 OPACs, & provides about 27 computers for the public to use. And they are busy almost constantly! People are applying for jobs, checking their email, sending photos to relatives, doing research, checking out MySpace & FaceBook, goofing off, playing games, composing their Christmas letters, etc. If our library decided to no longer provide technology, we wouldn't know how to function. We wouldn't know how to look up titles, how to tell patrons what they have checked out, or when it's due. How would we renew their items?

Our library also subscribes to a fair amount of electronic databases. These are fabulous! I've used them to locate names & addresses of "missing" persons, to locate books, to research authors & their works, to find articles on varioius topics, to help patrons take practice exams, etc. I wouldn't know how to help our patrons without these electronic resources.

Not to say technology is all peachy-keen. It is when it works as it's supposed to. But when it doesn't, productivity comes to a screeching halt. Our library has invested a fair amount of money in digitizing many years of our local newspapers. A third-party vendor is hosting the site for us. When it works, people from all over the world use the resource to research any number of things. But the site also goes "down" all too often. That's frustrating, cuz you just can't get at the information until it gets fixed. Grrr!

Another item on the con side, is that sometimes I think technology has removed the human interaction that I think is vital. We text, email, blog, etc., but there's no face-to-face or no human voice. Sad. But again, I think the pros outweigh the cons (most days)!