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<DIV>We are experiencing discrimination against the
technologically-deficient.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So libraries need to get with it and lend devices to these folks.
<STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>(#3, below)</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Are we going to provide equal access to information for all, or shrug, and
give the response the true library spirit cannot stand giving?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The whole world (the U.S., at least) is going this way, leaving behind
those who are without. I believe soon all Medicare Summary Notices are going to
come to Medicare beneficiaries via the web. Not online? Tough.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Defy the trend, libraries. Break your neck to serve all. (Especially
tax-supported libraries!)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>He huffed,</DIV>
<DIV>Jim Knutson</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>RE:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=diedre08@gmail.com href="mailto:diedre08@gmail.com">Diedre
Conkling</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us
href="mailto:libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or</A> ; <A
title=publib@webjunction.org href="mailto:publib@webjunction.org">Publib</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=srrtac-l@ala.org
href="mailto:srrtac-l@ala.org">SRRT</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, July 29, 2011 4:54 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Libs-Or] Interesting piece:
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you…”</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<H1 class=entry-title><FONT size=2>GUEST BLOG: “I’m sorry, but I can’t help
you…” E-only works create challenges for serving patrons</FONT></H1>
<DIV class=entry-meta><SPAN class="meta-prep meta-prep-author">Posted
on</SPAN> <A title="11:38 am"
href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/2011/07/guest-blog-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-sorry-but-i-can%e2%80%99t-help-you%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d-e-only-works-create-challenges-for-serving-patrons/"
rel=bookmark><SPAN class=entry-date>July 26, 2011</SPAN></A> <SPAN
class=byline><SPAN class=meta-sep>by</SPAN> <SPAN class="author vcard"><A
class="url fn n" title="View all posts by Jenni Terry"
href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/author/jterry/">Jenni
Terry</A></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=comments-link><SPAN class=meta-sep>|</SPAN>
<A
title="Comment on GUEST BLOG: “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you…” E-only works create challenges for serving patrons"
href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/2011/07/guest-blog-%e2%80%9ci%e2%80%99m-sorry-but-i-can%e2%80%99t-help-you%e2%80%a6%e2%80%9d-e-only-works-create-challenges-for-serving-patrons/#comments">4
Comments</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=entry-content><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=entry-content><STRONG>By <A
href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ABOUT-THE-AUTHOR_Anne-Behler.pdf">Anne
Behler</A></STRONG><BR><EM>Information Literacy Librarian<BR>Penn State
University Libraries<BR>Member of OITP E-book Task Force</EM></DIV>
<P class=entry-content>Uttering the words, “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you”
generally goes against the fiber of who librarians are as a profession. Sure,
there are circumstances in which the library is not the right service for the
problem, but I’d be hard pressed to find a colleague who wouldn’t bend over
backward to, at the very least, assist a person with locating the right
service. Built on a foundation of free information to all who would seek it,
libraries are symbols of democracy and champions of open access to all forms
of publication. So it’s certainly a tough pill to swallow that this is a line
that we may find ourselves uttering more frequently, thanks to the
proliferation of books</P>
<UL>
<LI>
<DIV class=entry-content>that are only published in electronic
format</DIV></LI>
<LI>
<DIV class=entry-content>and served up by accounts designed for private,
individual access only.</DIV></LI></UL>
<P class=entry-content>Consider this encounter:</P>
<P class=entry-content>One morning this week, our general reference desk
received a phone call from an individual who was doing research. He was
actually located at another, smaller college in the state, but his librarians
could not help him. So he tried us (a much larger, state resource university).
His basic problem:</P>
<P class=entry-content>1) He does not own a personal computer or electronic
reader and does not want one.<BR></P>
<P class=entry-content>2) He located a book through Amazon.com that he very
much wanted to access – it’s only available in e-book format both through
Amazon and Barnes & Noble.<BR></P>
<P class=entry-content><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>3) His library does
not</FONT></STRONG></P>
<UL>
<LI>
<DIV class=entry-content><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>have a device lending
program,</FONT></STRONG></DIV></LI>
<LI>
<DIV class=entry-content>nor does it allow installation of anything on its
public-use computers.</DIV></LI></UL>
<P class=entry-content>Thus any proprietary software required to read an
e-book was unavailable to him through his library.<BR></P>
<P class=entry-content>4) He was willing to do anything so that his library
could have access to this title and therefore lend it to him and others, such
as buy the e-book and donate it to the collection. However, this is not
possible with the e-book files, which are account-dependent
information.<BR></P>
<P class=entry-content>5) He was wondering whether any of the libraries
involved could ILL the title to one another for his use (again, not possible
due to account and device dependent information).</P>
<P class=entry-content>I think you get the picture. Because this title was
published in e- only (an author/publisher choice, no doubt) this individual
who did not have access to personal technology devices was at a complete loss
– and I was at a complete loss to assist him beyond giving suggestions about
how he might borrow computers or devices to be able to download the files and
read them. (He was also hoping to print out the book once acquired, which was
not likely to be possible either, nor does it comply with copyright, of
course). Or he could talk with his librarian about what specifically is
required to be able to view the e-books on a machine at the library</P>
<UL>
<LI>
<DIV class=entry-content>and hope that they could bend enough to let him
install the viewing software on one machine.</DIV></LI></UL>
<P class=entry-content>He and I had a very good discussion about the issues at
hand, and I think he went away feeling like he had something to advocate for –
for himself and for libraries. But in that moment that he asked his question,
and I tried to respond, I could not rely on any traditional library tools to
assist him. No interlibrary loan, no printing, no “I’ll purchase it for the
library on your behalf and lend it to you,” etc.</P>
<P class=entry-content>Some thoughts that I hope will prompt further
discussion:</P>
<P class=entry-content>At lot of discussions around e-books and electronic
content focus on marketing the e-books that people <EM>can</EM> access through
the library, how to make good collection development decisions about what to
purchase and how to negotiate fair licenses. And I’ve heard many of us
acknowledge that an e- only library is not something that promotes access for
all; print copies that might duplicate e-book collections are going to be with
us for a long time to come. But this situation was a stark reminder to me that
we should give a nod to the elephant in the room – okay, maybe just one of the
many elephants in the room – and acknowledge and address the issue of
information that isn’t available at all. Or rather, is only available to those
who decide to purchase a luxury device and create an information-sharing,
privacy-compromising account. Access to information in this environment is
certainly not equal, and so far, there doesn’t seem to be much the library can
do about it. Is this something we are willing to accept? If not, how can we
speak up?</P>
<P class=entry-content><EM>The views expressed in this guest blog post do not
necessarily reflect that of the ALA.</EM></P><EM></EM>
<DIV class=entry-content><A
href="http://www.districtdispatch.org/2011/07/guest-blog-%E2%80%9Ci%E2%80%99m-sorry-but-i-can%E2%80%99t-help-you%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-e-only-works-create-challenges-for-serving-patrons/">http://www.districtdispatch.org/2011/07/guest-blog-%E2%80%9Ci%E2%80%99m-sorry-but-i-can%E2%80%99t-help-you%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D-e-only-works-create-challenges-for-serving-patrons/</A>
<P><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Diedre
Conkling</SPAN></EM><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><BR><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">Lincoln County Library
District</SPAN></EM><BR><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">P.O.
Box 2027</SPAN></EM><BR><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">Newport, OR
97365</SPAN></EM><BR><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">Phone
& Fax: 541-265-3066</SPAN></EM><BR><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">Work
email</SPAN></EM></SPAN></I><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">:
</SPAN></EM><A href="mailto:diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org"
target=_blank><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><FONT
color=#0000ff>diedre@lincolncolibrarydist.org</FONT></SPAN></I></A><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><BR><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'">Home email: </SPAN></EM></SPAN></I><A
href="mailto:diedre08@gmail.com" target=_blank><EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">diedre08@gmail.com</SPAN></EM></A></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<H6>
<DIV><A href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/WAR-IS-OBSOLETE/297916183027"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3b5998>WAR IS
OBSOLETE</FONT></A></DIV><SPAN>Holding resentment is like eating poison and
waiting for the other person to keel over. - Unknown Author</SPAN></H6><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></DIV>
<P></P><EM><FONT size=2 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT></EM>
<HR>
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