Libraries Teach How to Access ‘The Net’

Quietly and without fanfare, many public libraries have begun offering free training and access to the Internet, a computerized global communications network that gives people the power to scan the contents of entire libraries at lightning speed or leisurely peruse local job listings.

With the exception of the Sunland-Tujunga Branch library, which is operating out of a bookmobile in a K mart shopping center until its new building is finished, each of the San Fernando Valley’s 15 functioning library branches has a computer and the software required to gain access to the Internet.

While all city-owned public libraries in the Valley obtained the equipment through government grants, some branches do not offer the service because all librarians have not yet been trained, said Judith Tetove, senior librarian at the Sun Valley library.

And some libraries experienced technical difficulties in getting started on “the Net”--as familiar users refer to it. For example, the Sun Valley Library’s designated Internet telephone line was accidentally assigned to a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant. No cheeseburger orders were routed to the library, but the foul-up did delay training, which won’t be offered at the branch until February.

Early demand at libraries already offering the Internet shows people’s interest in learning the new technology, even though it is complicated.

“We’ve had some difficulty with the system,” said Thea March, senior librarian at the Panorama City Branch Library, one of the first Valley branches to offer the training.

“Sometimes the computer lines you try to dial are busy, which means the system is full,” she said. “And there is no apparent order or logic to finding your way through the system, even though there is so much information available. If it’s like that now, what’s it going to be like in a few years? Still, it’s kind of exciting. It’s growing. And it’s such an interesting thing. You just have to learn by practicing.”

March said high school and elementary students have begun stopping by regularly to experiment with the network and to work on research projects.

At the Studio City Branch Library, demand is steady “but not yet enormous,” according to a librarian there, who said about 30 people have signed up for training since the system began operating two weeks ago.

Elizabeth Nelson, who offers Internet training at the Studio City branch, warned that the Net is not for everybody. “Trying to learn can be frustrating for some, especially those who’ve never used computers before. Some people sign up thinking they’ll get computer literacy training. But that’s not what this is. It’s an hour and a half of how to use the Internet.”

Some library branches require prospective users to receive training and certification at that particular library. But others, such as Sherman Oaks, simply ask users to pledge they know what they’re doing before signing on.

Nelson said after people get a glimpse of the vast computerized universe that is the Internet, they are usually a little overwhelmed.

“One person left me a note after training,” she said. “He wrote: ‘Awesome.’ ”