Finding Internet Access

Sometimes finding Internet access seems nearly impossible. Maybe your computer crashes, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is having problems, or you’re out of town. One solution to this problem is local public libraries.

Using the library’s computers is fairly simple. Some libraries make it easy to use your laptop to hook up to their Internet Service. The only drawback is that if you need to print something you’ll probably need to use the library’s computers.

If you’re going to use the library’s computers it’s best to call them and ask about computer availability and policies. If you don’t live in that city you’ll want to know if they will issue you a temporary pass. You’ll also want to make sure computers are available. Some libraries are very busy and it can be difficult to find an available computer without reservations. There are also may be time limits on the length of time you can use a computer, varying from as little as 15 or 30 minutes to as long as 1 or 2 hours.

If you need to print you’ll want to inquire about cost and how this works. Some libraries require you to pay before you can print and other libraries use the honor system allowing you to print and then pay for the pages.

Finally you’ll want to know about security and privacy. Does your history get wiped clean? If you forget to sign out of your email will you be automatically logged out when your session is over? The library I used informed me that everything was wiped clean once I logged out of my session.

World Digital Library

The U.N. launched the World Digital Library (WDL) this month. It’s a free site containing primary resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences around the world. Each resource is accompanied by explanations from scholars in seven different languages. The really great thing about this site is that it’s an excellent resource for homework and research.

The library is browsable by place, time, topic, type of item, or institution. I found this feature useful mainly for getting an idea of what the library contains. However, for specific subject inquiries the library provides simple keyword searching. For example, students looking for information about Thomas Jefferson can just enter his name in the search box instead of clicking through all the browse buttons. The results can then be narrowed down by place, time, topic, type of item, or institution.

Visit the World Digital Library (WDL).
Learn more about the WDL.
Read The Washington Post article about the WDL.

Libraries Around the World

Do you need to locate the website of a library across the country or, across the globe? Check out LibDex. The site contains links to libraries around the world.

The homepage says you can “read, write & reviews your favourite readings on Libdex!” Apart from the confusing sentence grammar, I’m not sure how that works since I can’t find a link for reading or writing reviews. If anyone does come across the reviews option I’d love to hear about where it is and how it works.

In addition to not finding reviews, the site design hides links to really great weblogs written by information professionals and links to library related journals. To find either of those pages you have to scroll down to the bottom of any page on the site and next to information about the site, you’ll find the “Weblogs” and “Journals” links.

Although some of the libraries listed might be found through a quick Google search the site is still very useful for locating libraries that you don’t know about and discovering new weblogs and journals.

World’s Largest Medical Library

The World’s Largest Medical Library

Are you looking for an authoritative source of medical information and news? The U.S. National Library of Medicine in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health publishes a free online medical library. The site is divided into categories “especially for:”

• The Public
• Health Care Professionals
• Researchers
• Librarians
• Publishers

But, remember, your local librarian and your friends and family members who are not health professionals can only direct you to health information sources and diagnose health problems. As is the disclaimer of other resources, consult your physician for a professional diagnosis.