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Community Access and the Small-Town Library Written by
Fred McGuinness Note: Hypertext links have been added to the libraries mentioned in the text which have WWW pages.
Introduction In the summer of 1996 a quiet revolution took place in many rural libraries; they acquired an Internet connection. Within hours, local residents began lining up to check out this new and highly publicized medium. For the librarians involved, the day the Internet arrived was the conclusion of one hectic period, and the launching of another. Many librarians had worked with their trustees and employees to provide the leadership that resulted in their home communities being awarded CAP funds. After they had solved the problems of hardware and software, they then had to undergo the training which made them Internet proficient. CAP -- that acronym stands for Community Access Project -- is an initiative of the federal department Industry Canada. It provides matching funds not to exceed $30,000 to communities under 50,000 in population which demonstrate they can meet program criteria of need, leadership, resources, and solid community support. The motivation of the federal government in launching the CAP project was well set out by Industry Minister John Manley in the release which contained the names of last year's successful CAP applicants. The Minister said, "The potential for job creation and growth through the information highway is immense. Telecommunications represents one of Canada's greatest competitive advantages in the global, knowledge-based economy. It is crucial that people in Canada's small population centres also have the opportunity to benefit from this strategic asset." Thanks to CAP, and the community activists who completed those CAP applications in Year One, 380 smaller centres are now connected to what the Minister calls a "strategic asset." A majority of them have a public-access terminal in the library. In October, 1996, committees of volunteers in each province and territory will appraise applications to determine which communities will have their CAP applications approved in Year Two. Another such process in Year Three, 1997, is expected to be the final one. Industry Canada's CAP organizers anticipate that in this three-year undertaking, 1,500 small communities will receive CAP funds for their Internet connections.
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| Part
of process
What the public doesn't know -- perhaps even some librarians -- is that CAP is one of many elements leading to a change of role for rural and small-town libraries. Activists in rural communities across Canada are involved in a grass-roots movement to develop each local economy from within its own resources. The Internet, with its ability to banish distance, now puts them in touch with the greater world. The objective of Industry Canada, with its CAP and LibraryNet programs, is to enable libraries to provide information which leads to local job creation and economic development. Thanks to this unusual combination: CAP, Internet, and far-sighted librarians, public libraries in rural Canada are undergoing a transformation.
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| CAP
experience
For the small-town librarians and their staffs, those new Internet terminals are a daunting challenge. Yes, they provide extended reference material; but no, there is no easy or automatic way to make the transition. Many library staffers were not trained in the technicalities of electronic communications, nor had their trustees debated the rules that would prevail when the public lined up to try their hands at "surfing." Staff mbers, completely competent with their traditional duties of reference searches, and books-out, books-in, now found themselves besieged with a new range of questions, many of them technical in nature. Time had to be found, and trainers had to be found, who would give librarians and their associates hands-on training in such arcane subjects as WWW, FTP, MIRC, to mention only the more obvious. Inside those small-community libraries, the interplays between local residents and the CAP connections were as varied as the institutions themselves. An example of what can be accomplished when the librarian embraces the new technology, and promotes it heavily through the local media, may be learned from the experience at the Estevan (Saskatchewan) Public Library.
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| Estevan
'Public'
Librarian Greg Salmers is convinced that the combination of CAP and the Internet "have greatly elevated the esteem in which the young persons hold the public library." As proof he cites non-stop activity at his four public-access terminals. While this keyboard action is particularly heavy after school is out, there is no slack time even during school hours. In that period the terminals are kept busy by unemployed persons using the Internet to look for work, by persons with jobs looking for better ones, and by off-shift workers who are searching for specific information. When CBK, the CBC radio station in Regina, told Salmers they were sending a reporter to Estevan to interview him, he organized a reception including 20 of his regular patrons to talk to the CBC journalist. There were seniors who use the Internet to check up on the performance of companies in which they hold shares. There were local authors who are regular users as they conduct research for works-in-progress. There was a senior man, who never previously had used a keyboard, who now each week laboriously, letter-by-letter, pecks out an e-mail message to his daughter, a foreign-aid worker on duty in Africa. There was an unemployed nurse looking for work in the U.S. There were genealogists who want to search through those Internet programs containing the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all the families in North America. Greg Salmers was able to make one reference to local commerce on the Internet. An Estevan realtor, who represents a national firm, had an emergent need of training when his head office told him of the company policy which demands that all listings be incorporated in local web pages. When Estevan's CAP students reported for duty, Salmers had a list of 722 local enterprises he wanted contacted. While the students made many of these calls, there simply were not enough hours in which they could finish this assignment. Salmers said that, initially, the young persons using the CAP installations were mainly male, but this is changing rapidly. Some of them want sports information. A surprising number want to read some of the 400 newspapers and magazines on line. Salmers knows that his terminals are viewed as precious by youngsters who have no computers or Internet connections at home. By charging $2 per hour for this service, Salmers estimates that he has solved the long-term problem of maintaining his Internet connection.
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| Dawson
City
There are wide variations in Internet usage, as librarians have discovered. At Dawson City Community Library, Yukon, librarian Vicki McCullum says she never could have foretold how valuable her CAP installation has become to the tourist industry, the foundation of the local economy. "In our lengthening tourist season, which now runs from mid-May to the end of August, we have two types of visitor: students who are here working for some aspect of tourism; and the tourists themselves. Both groups reacted strongly when they learned we had a public-access Internet connection." The result was that for Dawson City's 14-week tourist season, Vicki McCullum's sole Internet terminal was busy every hour the library was open, 37.5 hours per week. There were e-mail messages going to and from: Germany, France, Switzerland, the U.S., and many points in Canada. Visitors to Dawson City are provided with Internet accounts and they may make reservations for half-hour time slots at the terminal. There is a brisk interest in the "Hot-Mail" program, which permits visitors to call up incoming e-mail messages as they move from one community to another. At this moment, Dawson City's Internet service is free, but this is certain to change. McCullum says the local tourist industry is delighted; the library's Internet connection is a new and important attraction.
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| Casual
research
At the Haines City Public Library, Haines City, Yukon, librarian Debbie Osborne has a single public-access terminal which is busy non-stop for those four hours the library is open daily. Osborne took an interest in the subjects her patrons were pursuing in their Internet searches. She lists them as: medicine, health, animals, business, and tourism. In the latter category there is a special interest in eco-tourism, for Haines City is the jumping-off spot for Kluane National Park. When Debbie Osborne isn't busy with her regular duties, she is writing a set of regulations that will cover Internet usage. At the time of this interview she had only one guiding principle: no youngsters could use the Internet connection unless their parents had given their permission in writing.
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| Summer
students
Without exception, librarians are vocal in their praise of CAP's summer-student program. Those communities that were given CAP funds were authorized to hire two students for training and promotion purposes. In many cases these were local residents who were studying away from home at universities and community colleges. They were delighted to bring their new-found talents home to teach their former neighbors. As these computer-literate, Internet-proficient young persons settled in to their new duties, they found an overload of work. It was necessary to train persons working at all of the public-access terminals. It was necessary to train members of the public anxious to try the popular new sport of surfing, electronic style. The students were expected to visit local business proprietors and urge them to use the new medium for commercial purposes. And, above all else, they were expected to help the public find the answers to questions. The range was encyclopaedic. At Killarney, Manitoba, a patron wanted information on the diabetes that had just been diagnosed in her cat. The answer was found in an on-line veterinary-science textbook. At Minnedosa, librarian Georgina Johnson was asked how many golf courses there are at Las Vegas. The answer is 54. In one day, at the Raymond (Alberta) Public Library, student Jeff McMullin was asked the following: Is it possible to coat ammonites, those fossilized remains of sea shells? Can you help me with information on home renovations? Is it true there is a cocaine scandal in Canada's Olympic equestrian team? How many different types of mules are there? The answer was found for each question. At the Boissevain-Morton (Manitoba) Public Library, staff members use e-mail to retrieve book reviews, and several residents have accessed the World War One Book of Remembrance in Ottawa. At Halifax, on the eve of the arrival of Hurricane Bertha, a surfing (water surfing, that is) enthusiast asked the staff in the public library if they could find out what the height of the waves would be when the big blow was at its peak. Surprise: this information was available on Environment Canada's weather-information pages. As every librarian knows, knowledge is power, and the Internet is a powerful new source of knowledge. It has the potential to draw new patrons to the library, and while there, they are likely to become interested in the standard offerings.
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Local option CAP installations are under the direction of the local CAP committee, the members of which set their own rules. This results in a wide variation of regulations concerning usage of the public-access terminals. In some communities there is no charge. In others there are charges from $1 to $5 per hour. The protocol for surfers is a matter of local option. |
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The widest variations in local regulations appear in the attitude towards e-mail. At the Dutton-Dunwich Public Library, Dutton, Ontario, it is prohibited. At the Hamiota (Manitoba) Public Library, patrons are permitted to send e-mail messages but not to receive any. At Faro, in the Northwest Territories, librarian Connie Meade provides her patrons with passwords and encourages them to send and receive all the e-mail they want.
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Seasoned response Sylvia Nicholson, Manitoba's director of Public Library Services, offers a seasoned response when asked to share her insights on these various attitudes. While she admits that the public-access terminals will increase library traffic, and improve the image of the institution, she also sees a negative influence. In particular she cites demands on staff time, some public expectations that may not be met, and the uncertain validity of some of the information available on the 'Net. Regarding the varying attitudes towards e-mail usage, Harry Holman, director of Archives and Public Libraries for Prince Edward Island thinks this is just as it should be. "I'm not sure this is a matter of right or wrong. One of the great benefits of CAP is the extent to which it is guided by local decisions. Librarians are going to make decisions re things like e-mail based upon the service levels of each community." |
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Straight goods Sylvia Nicholson's thought about the validity of information on the Internet is of interest to Clarke Piprell, librarian at the Mission (B.C.) Public Library. "We have to find acceptable ways of checking out the Internet information for its reliability. In the meantime, we have to educate people not to believe everything they read on the 'Net. Quite often the book source is both quicker to find and more reliable . . . . but it's not cool!" One of Piprell's extra duties has to do with training. He is part of an Internet training team responsible for teaching librarians and support staff how to use the Internet, and how to develop policies and procedures for the use of the public-access terminals. |
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Pressed for time Busy Internet terminals represent a tough problem for many small libraries. Jocelyne Thompson, assistant director of public libraries in New Brunswick, puts a sharp point on this predicament. "Forty-seven of our 61 service points have two or fewer full-time equivalent staff. They keep their libraries open 30 or more hours per week and offer circulation and reference services, as well as children and adult programming . . . . as you can well appreciate, there is very little time left over for new services." |
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The importance of knowledge In Nova Scotia, Marion Pape, provincial librarian, says her department has set up a partnership arrangement with the Nova Scotia Federation of Community Networks to offer e-mail services at public libraries, and to provide training to patrons on demand. Pape is enthused about the potential of the Internet, because "Knowledge is one of the most important commodities in the global market." |
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Internet as labour-saver Maureen Woods, Saskatchewan provincial librarian, views the CAP connection as a labour saver. "Contrary to the notion that the Internet will interfere with traditional library work, it is allowing libraries to perform this key function much more effectively and efficiently." Library staff at the Boissevain-Morton (Manitoba) Public Library have found that, thanks to their CAP Internet terminal, they are saving both time and money. They download book reviews, search for cataloguing copy, send press releases by e-mail, all of which are reducing the costs of postage and telephone. They are investigating the ordering of books by e-mail.
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The future Librarians have been introduced to Industry Canada's "Schoolnet" service, which now links 4,000 public, private, and First Nations schools, and is still expanding. It was covered in detail in Michelle Schoffro's article in the May 1996 edition of Feliciter, Volume 42, Number 5. In brief, SchoolNet is a co-operative initiative of the federal government, the provincial and territorial governments, with industry. Its purpose is to supply libraries with additional 'information power' for the especial attention of students. However, they may not have heard about a companion offering called LibraryNet, which is still in the formative stages. At a meeting held in Ottawa, April 19, 1996, representatives of Industry Canada and the library community formulated the concept for LibraryNet, the goal of which is a network of public libraries all connected to the Internet by the year 2000. A secondary objective is an extended range of services. This expanded connectivity will provide the public with the potential to build skills, and the library with a way to support economic and community development.
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Ottawa meeting While forecasting is certainly no exact science, it is possible to foretell some of the developments certain to occur in the library community by the millenium. A number of them are set out in "Critical Elements of the LibraryNet Vision," a document prepared following that April 19 meeting. [Note: The full text of this document is available online.] As Canada moves away from its industrial base and replaces it with knowledge industries, this places the dissemination of information in the forefront of economic development. With an Internet connection as the foundation for the information exchange, libraries are in a prime position to elevate their importance to their patrons. To their traditional cultural services they now add a new one based upon economics. This dissemination of economic information represents a possible new source of revenues for libraries. Proponents of LibraryNet see public libraries as a ready-made distribution network which can be used to deliver government information and services to the public, with the governments paying a fee for this service. Rod Sawyer, public library consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation, sees positive benefits from such a move. "Public access to electronic information including electronic government information and services provide tremendous opportunities for public libraries to reinforce their role as community access points to information as we move into the 21st Century." Wendy Newman, of the Brantford Public Library, whose Internet connection was privately funded, has learned that there are commercial services which libraries can perform for pay. In Brantford's case, patrons are provided with access to the job bank of Human Resources Development, and does so on a fee-for-service basis. Newman says another benefit which arises thanks to the Internet connection is increased traffic. "The Internet has drawn into the library many patrons who previously were only infrequent visitors. Among them is a core group of adolescents who book terminal space in advance." Marianne Williamson knows what it's like to be a community access point for government information. As chief librarian, Sioux Lookout (Ontario) Public Library, she was pleased that her library was chosen to participate in a pilot project on this subject. Through this pilot, which runs 12 months, September to September, the organizers will appraise the results when federal releases and policy papers are distributed in electronic form. At Sioux Lookout, Marianne Williamson operates what she calls "CIC," the Community Internet Centre. To accommodate her five Internet terminals, she converted a former 550-square-foot multi-purpose room into her electronic centre. This is a busy place, for it has exclusive control over the Internet in this district. Through a partnership with Lakehead University, the Sioux Lookout library houses the university's hardware which is used to supply ISP services to this corner of northwestern Ontario. As well, the library distributes promotional material for the university, and accepts applications from dial-up customers. In the eight weeks since public Internet access was offered in this library, 219 private dial-up accounts were opened, which represent 17 per cent of the Sioux Lookout households. Since its opening in June, this library has trained 342 persons how to use the Internet, and has logged 2,078 hours of computer time. There is a house policy that this service will be free until at least the end of 1997, although there is a per-page charge for printing. Since that Internet connection was made in June, this library has issued 392 cards, and Williamson says the new service "definitely is a boost to the library. To get to the CIC, Internet users must walk through the regular inventory, which always has a display area where the offerings are frequently changed. Is there a negative side to all this activity? Marianne Williamson says yes. "It is quite a strain on my staff. They must maintain their regular duties at the same time they handle the new service." Even so, Williamson says the Internet, and its availability, has put the Sioux Lookout Library "front and centre in his town." It is her intention to keep in there. She will do so by coaxing more patrons onto her premises. The attraction is a non-stop series of "Theme Nights," which appeal to special-interest groups. Dominant topics include: seniors, genealogy, sports, and Aboriginal activities. These themes follow the seasons with special nights for subjects like gardening.
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More pilot studies As librarians become even more vigorous disseminators of government information, they will be guided by a research project recently completed in Nova Scotia. The "Government Information Pilot Program" was under the joint sponsorship of Industry Canada and the Nova Scotia Links Program, which is operated by the Department of Education and Culture. There were two objectives: to identify issues and obstacles with regard to the electronic dissemination of government information in public libraries; and to determine the reaction of Canadians to government information in electronic format. On October 8, 1996, project co-ordinator Susan Arbing released the results of this study. [Note: The full text of this document is available online.] Students had trained 321 individuals to retrieve government information electronically. While 60.8 per cent of them were regular users of government information, almost all of them were relative newcomers to the Internet. The individuals who took part in the study were enthusiastic about the amount of government information available in electronic format, perceiving it as up-to-date. There was a high demand for information on government programs and services, employment, statistics and the economy. Numerous requests were received for government economic information to support local economic development. Some problems were identified. A number of libraries do not have printers attached to their Internet terminals, which made it impossible for searchers to acquire hard copies. In too many instances would-be searchers are unable to get immediate access to a terminal because they are all busy. There is a lack of cross-referencing in the material. Early recommendations concern the need for librarians and their staffs to be given advanced and continuing training in electronic retrieval. Patrons want libraries to equip their Internet terminals with printers in order to provide print-outs, for which the cost must be reasonable. There must be more terminals. Some clients commented that government websites would be easier to use if they used plain language, and had a standard format.
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Conclusion As Canada's libraries, both urban and rural, learn to live with this period of enforced change, there is no question but that, in the future, they will be more closely linked to economic development. This burgeoning aspect of librarianship is close to the heart of Secretary of State for Science Jon Gerrard, minister in charge of the Community Access Project. He says: "The growth of our small and medium-sized business sector serving global markets from rural communities has been truly remarkable. Our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians living in rural communities have the opportunity to access the latest in training, health services and business opportunities that are being created through information technologies so that 'rural' Canada remains a driving force in Canada's new economy." Actor Mavor Moore once penned a bit of doggerel which went, "The librarians within the cloister, Even allowing for that poetic license, it is safe to say that the traditional dispensers of information are today a long way from the cloister. The closer we get to the millenium, the more the librarians are using technology to find a new place for themselves, front and centre in the New Society. |
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Sidebar: The Fraser-Hickson Experience "We have six public-access terminals on our mezzanine floor. They are busy all week, and on the weekends we are swamped." At the end of eight months of this new service, Frances Ackerman is busy appraising the results. As chief librarian of the Fraser-Hickson Library, Montreal, she is riding a close herd on the Internet experience in order that she can write a report for her board. In order to deal with that business of being swamped, Ackerman has organized what is, in effect, an Internet system. Reservations can be made for terminal time, and the time booked is one hour. All reservations begin on the hour. At the 55-minute mark, a staff member gives all the users a five-minute warning. There is a fee charged of $2 per hour, and print-outs are permitted for which there is an additional per-page charge. In order to gather material for her report, Frances Ackerman asks Internet clients for permission to log their subject preferences. Through this means she compiles information on the more popular topics. In no special order, some of the more frequently-pursued subjects include: Canadian politics, genealogy, art sites like the Louvre, American election news, corporate information, and stock tables. One frequent listing is nothing more than "browsing." The Fraser-Hickson Library is a rarity; it is financed from private sources. Ackerman says the majority of her Internet users are Anglophones, although there are a number of Francophones. By locating the Internet terminals in a separate area (it is called Club Net) the Fraser-Hickson staff report no interruptions to their regular traffic flow. "We are doing everything that we did before," Ackerman says, "It's just that there are more persons on the premises." One difference that Ackerman has noticed between traditional library users and Internet users is that the latter have a tendency to think of the Internet first when they are on a search. Ackerman says "We remind them that we have traditional reference sources which are noted for their reliability." Regarding the reliability of information retrieved from the Internet, Ackerman says her staff members tell Internet users always to check the sources of the material. Fraser-Hickson currently runs a continuing series of training courses for Internet users, their preference being for classes of six or eight. A large number of their regular Internet users are seniors. Frances Ackerman says it is almost a certainty that the Internet service will be expanded. |
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