"We used to be a searching unit," said Peggy Conaway, head of the online reference department at San Jose (CA) Martin Luther King, Jr. Main Library. "Now we're changing into a training unit." This statement appears in an article which debates the future of libraries in the April 7, 1997, San Jose Mercury News. It sums up the transition public librarians are facing with the onslaught of demand for Internet access and particularly the training that, of necessity, goes along with it. The article also reports free, two-hour, Saturday Internet classes the reference department librarians offers. Sessions are full and demand "has overwhelmed" supply.

Most newspaper and magazine articles today talk about the global village and the virtual community and the public libraries' role in providing access. Yet almost no articles talk about the how the librarians who work in these libraries are supposed to acquire the skills necessary to function in this new environment. It seems clear from the focus of these articles that one of the skills the public not only expects, but assumes librarians have, is expertise in showing others how to use the emerging technology, especially the Internet. The evolution of the Internet, and particularly the World Wide Web, as an information delivery system searched by end-users causes each and every librarian who deals with the public to be a teacher in ways they may never have anticipated.

One example you can download from the St. Joseph County Public Library (SJCPL), South Bend, Indiana, (URL: http://sjcpl.lib.in.us) is a Power Point slide presentation that is used in their Internet training. It is aimed specifically at library staff who are beginning Internet training programs for patrons. This slide show notes three other public library examples of Internet training programs: Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (NY), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library (NC), and West Bloomfield Public Library (MI). If you are interested in searching a list of over 300 public libraries to see what kinds of Internet training programs they offer, take a look at the Web site from the Milton Public Library (MA) (URL: http://www.tiac.net/users.mpl). It provides annotation for each library and indicates the site's best or worst features. LIRT is committed to providing support to any librarian that teaches, regardless of library type. LIRT membership reflects a rich variety of librarianship. LIRT produces practical hands-on material to aid the librarian instructor, whether novice or experienced.

LIRT is unique in its multi-library approach. Within LIRT there is great opportunity for cross-fertilization among librarians who have the same demands placed on them. Allow yourself to take advantage of a tremendously rich resource.

Please join us for "Focus on the Student," the LIRT 1997 Annual Conference program in San Francisco, Sunday, June 29, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Check the program for location. Learn more about LIRT. Meet some of its members. Then join! You'll be glad you did.

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