Why Libraries are Better Than the Internet.

by:   Rick Rodney aka jelli

(Originally published in the Ayer, Massachusetts "Public Spirit", January 29, 1997)

Our local library is back again with a much improved facility.   I couldn't be happier.   Even in the age of the Internet,   libraries are the real information superhighway.   Libraries have held megabytes of information for ages.   The Greeks had a huge library at Alexandria centuries before Christ.   The loss of the libraries of the Roman Empire helped plunge the world into the dark ages.   Today,   the free public library system has helped to make this one of the most literate cultures in history.

Of course, a lot of people swear by the Internet. It gives you instant 24-hour access, worldwide communications,   and hey,   isn't everything at the library on the web anyway?   No way!   The library isn't the poor man's web,   it's the other way around.   There are riches available at your local library that web surfers can't begin to experience!   Now I work with computers for a living and I'm addicted to IRC chat for fun.   I'm no technophobe. But I would like to give a few reasons why I think that browsing at the library beats browsing the web any day!

1.   Librarians.   They SHOULD be number one. I have never met a cranky librarian. Think of them as the ultimate search engines. Do you need to find a book about world religions?   Ask and ye shall receive!   Type in the word   "religion"  on Yahoo! and you'll get thousands of obscure listings! Ask an information librarian and he or she will recommend a few good books, or a whole section. You won't stumble across the "Third Church of Divine Self-Flagellation and Cosmic Consciousness"   web site, either.

2.   Cost.   OK,   let's add it up.   Library use - Free.
Internet: Basic Service - $19.95 a month typically. On-Line Time - $?.?? (Fill in your provider's fee here). Phone Bill - $?.?? (Fill in that number you see on your phone bill just before you faint here). Electricity - $?.??. (Are you beginning to see a pattern?) I haven't even factored in the cost of the computer, the software, and all of the other goodies you need just to get started!

3.   Censorship.   OK,   Maybe the   'net'   gets a point here. The Internet is totally uncensored. Libraries, while leaders in the fight against censorship, do not, as a rule stock such wonderful, liberty-affirming items as hard core smut and racial hate literature. Of course, anything you would want your children getting their hands on is available. There is a large variety of viewpoints - political, religious and otherwise.

4.   Safety hazards.   Computer-related injuries - Back and neck pain, eyestrain,   Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.   Library-related injuries - Paper cuts.

5.   Books versus bytes. You can't curl up in front of the fire with a good website, or take a nice bubble bath with your monitor. If you put a book down for a few minutes to rest your eyes, you won't be kicked for "lurking".

6.   Viruses. OK, you may catch a cold at the library. But you will not bring home a book that will proceed to erase all of the words in your other books.

7.   Power outages. Ever try to surf by candlelight?

8.   Required training. To use the Internet you need to know Windows,   DOS,   HTML (whatever that is), how to figure out the icons on your browser, and about 15 zillion WWW.whatzit.com addresses. You can take college courses on it. To use the library, you need to know the Dewey Decimal System and how to use a card catalog. I learned them in the third grade.

9.   Data Integrity. You will NEVER open a book and see a message like this:

Data error reading page 137. Abort, Retry, Ignore. . .

10.   Social Interaction. That's socializing not   "interfacing"   (I don't know where the "face" part comes in anyway). Typing cute little notes and emoticons in a chat group is not socializing. It's typing! If this is the only way you socialize, stop it now! Get up and go out! Risk human contact! It can pay off. If someone smiles at you in the library, you will actually SEE THE SMILE. If they are - ROTFL - (rolling on the floor laughing) you will actually hear it (of course, that may bring a stern look or two from the librarian). If you meet a lovely young lady at the library, you will KNOW she's a lovely young lady. If you meet a lovely young lady on the 'net, she might be a lovely young man. . .

Now I'll admit the Internet has some advantages, too. There's nothing like the web for finding out whatever happened to Zuzu from "It's a Wonderful Life" at 3:00 A.M. You do meet some interesting people on IRC, and I don't know how I ever got along without e-mail. But, no matter how sophisticated the Internet gets, there will never be anything to replace a good library. If you haven't been by your local library recently, then turn off your computer (You can do it! It's that little button in the rear.) and go check it out!

- Richard C. Rodney   (Jelli)