Thing #11 1/2

Nebraska Learns 2.0 used a Voki to deliver the instructions for Thing #11. A lot of participants responded using Vokis of their own. I wanted to make one, too, but I had trouble, even with my shiny new DSL connection. Whenever I tried to change the face shape or hair color or whatever, it would take what seemed like an unreasonably long time to load. Then, when I changed her shirt, her hair disappeared and after five minutes had not come back. The little spinning wheel just kept spinning, so I knew the program had just stalled out. I don't think this is Voki's fault. I think if I had a better computer with an up-to-date browser and all the latest plug-ins, it would have worked fine. I will probably revisit Voki when I replace my computer, but that's months away, if not a year or more.

So this is something to remember about technology. We still live in a world divided by haves and have-nots. The have-nots are further divided into choose-to-have-nots and unable-to-have-nots. Those who choose to have not usually have looked at a given technology and decided they are not interested. They are content. Those who are unable to have it, however, often want it and feel deeply hampered by their inability to get it (which is almost always related to money). And they are deeply hampered, if their economic situation prevents them from doing basic things, like posting their resume online from home.

And this is something libraries have to remember, too. Absolutely, we need to continue our efforts to keep up with the technologies used by our most saavy patrons, the ones who have computers at home that make the best computers in our libraries look substandard. But we have to remember not to leave behind the have-nots who come to us because we provide access to technology and equipment they could only dream of having at home. A good friend of mine called me the other day to tell me how amazing the public library's computers are, and how blown away she was by their speed and all the things she could do with them. Now I'm sure the librarians there feel their computers are old, outdated, and due for replacing, but this friend is using a ten-year-old machine with Windows 95, a dial-up modem, decrepit CRT monitor that turns everything green, and a browser that can't scroll to the right if a page is too wide, much less render Flash animation. So to her, the library's facilities are godly. I have other friends who don't have internet access at all from their homes, and still others who don't have computers. Not that they don't want them; they just can't afford them.

It's a balancing act for libraries, but it truly is imperative that we keep ourselves primed to serve those at both ends of the continuum. To be relevant to the haves, we need not only to understand the tech they're using, but to be able to offer them some level of service beyond what they can get from their friends. It's not enough to be there; we have to be useful while we're there. But at the same time, we have to remember that we are the lifeline of the have-nots, especially in this economy. It's a wide stance, but we really need to stand on both sides of the fence.