Wednesday, March 18, 2009

When the computers shut down......

We, the younger generation of librarians are so comfortable with the internet and especially the idea of Googling that when computers are down we have to stop and think about how to retrieve information.

Our computers have been down all morning and I had a question: The address of our Governor General’s Office. I can’t remember the last time I may have used (or was shown) a print item that would have this information. I had to put the person on phone on hold and think for a minute before I realized Scotts! The government directory in Canada! Whew! One of my colleagues was pleased that she got to use the Short Story Indexes for her reference question.

It is a different feeling while having to use just print materials. You take your time finding answers, patrons seem to wait more patiently, etc. But you also get less done in the same amount of time (simply my opinion!). Nevertheless it felt rewarding. I felt like a librarian. (Oops, can I say that out loud)

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