Advice
- Don’t wait until it’s safe to take action. Try to implement as much as possible and take some chances. Librarians tend to fear loss of control. Unfortunately, too many libraries are waiting for the Internet to be well organized before they turn it on.
- High-tech is labor intensive. Librarians must work closely with the patrons to get the technology to work.
- Obtaining funding for the network up-front strengthens a library’s negotiating position with automation vendors.
- No single automation vendor will solve all of a library’s needs. Librarians must learn how components from various systems interact.
- Tap the local network for help, when possible. Libraries on the regional Electronic Information Network are using its e-mail capabilities to solve problems among themselves, creating less reliance on the central technical office to resolve them.
- Funding agencies often don’t see the role of a library in community development, but when they understand the potential, they want to fund it. The public library needs to be seen as an organization that is active in community problem solving. When the library has a track record for problem solving, the money will follow.
