Public libraries, Internet are complementary
By Jo Ann Pinder
Director, Gwinnett County Public Library
for Gwinnett Forum.com

(Editor's note: Gwinnett County boasts the nation's "Library of the year." We asked Jo Ann Pinder to give some thoughts about libraries of the future -- eeb)

May 15, 2001 -- Libraries are the cornerstones of our democracy. Established to allow for a free exchange of information and ideas, public libraries help make us better at our responsibilities as citizens. They are the people's university, a place where anyone can learn what is needed to succeed in our country. Thomas Jefferson thought "..that nothing would do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in each county..."

With the widespread access to information through Internet sources, what happens to this cornerstone? Is the Internet going to replace the public library? Will the book disappear?

Access through the Internet is not the end. It is the beginning. With Internet access, how will you find the answer? For centuries, librarians have been organizing information so people could find answers, or so librarians can find the answer for you. And while we have had to deal with primitive organizing tools as the card catalog in the past, now we can be creative with technology to provide a new arena of service for you.

(By the way, without order the Internet can be a digital divide, where the rich get information and the poor do not. Without order, the Internet creates a widening gap between rich and poor.)

The public library has been charged with using the public dollar to create access to many resources which few of us can afford individually. By combining our dollars libraries can purchase access to specialized databases and make them available to many. We can hire staff trained to establish what you need and who know how to find it.

For example, many of us watched the movie, "61*" on HBO. This whetted interest in Mickey Mantle and the desire for more information. Using your Internet access and typing "Mickey Mantle," the number of sites on the Internet found would be overwhelming. And among those many sites, would be information that was not accurate.

If instead, the search for information was started through the Gwinnett Library site, the results would be more manageable and have a much higher probability of being correct. Why? The library staff created its own "Mickey Mantle" site, giving some order to the information by refining the search, identifying the best search engine and data base, and choosing sources that had creditability.

Not only that, but the library makes this information available to you even its buildings are closed or you cannot get to a library branch. You can access the Internet using the library's web site http://www.gwinnettpl.org. From this entry point it is a simply click of the mouse to the many resources organized to increase the chances of a successful search.

Is the Internet going to replace the public library? Not as long as the Gwinnett County Public Library can add value to information you need by making it easier to find and conveniently available. Libraries in the future will be more than ever a free exchange of information and ideas.

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