A Byte of the Future

Having read “The Jobs of the Past, the Jobs of the Future” (by Emily Gest, Aug, 20), I only hope that the author is a rather young person who was weaned on electronic equipment. That would explain her bias and lead me to wish that her look into the future is incorrect. Perhaps she should go to see the current showing of “The World of Ray Bradbury to get a glimpse of what could happen if machines ruled the world.

Some people will never be able to use a computer: senior citizens--and we are many--who are intimidated by them; young people who, emerging from school unable to read, won’t be able to cope with the 462 different instruction manuals for Windows 95 equipment; people of all ages who simply can’t afford to buy an adequate computer plus the programs that need to go with it, and others who won’t be able to learn how to use computers at all.

Helen L. Manheimer

Tarzana

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In her article, Gest indulged in the most obvious stereotypes about libraries and librarians. Imagine my surprise to learn that my job was “on the way out.” Public libraries have been using electronic technology for more than 20 years.

Yes, we have given up our “beloved card catalogues” for computerized catalogues. But people seem delighted to have these new systems available and even more pleased that librarians are still available to help them use these technologies. Internet is available free of charge at 41 of the 66 branch libraries, and our “Home Page” for the World Wide Web is being compiled by a skilled staff or--wonder of wonders--public librarians.

Cyberspace will never replace physical space. Computers simply serve as tools for the information age, as did indexes and file cards for earlier generations. And the future librarians you refer to will need to be much more than “distillers” of information. They will need to be able to simultaneously navigate both the world of electronic information and that of print.

Susan Goldberg Kent, city librarian

Los Angeles Public Library

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One of my greatest joys is to walk around the aisles of libraries and examine all the different books until I find those that interest me. When I was in my teens, I used to spend hours wandering through the Central Library, discovering books I’d never heard of and learning about authors I didn’t know. It was going to the library that got me to love reading.

Are the children of the future going to bother to use computers to read books for pleasure? How do you curl up in a favorite chair and read a book on a computer? And if the libraries close, what will happen to children whose parents cannot afford computers and online service?

For the record, I do own a computer and enjoy using it, but it still doesn’t take the place of my books.

Daria Case

Van Nuys

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The past is being dismissed and forgotten because it is considered out of date, and a cold future seems to hold the key to complete dehumanization. While we strive for more efficient ways to work, play, educate and just plain function, we are losing touch, literally, with one another. People are becoming isolated from the outside world, although most of us still need human contact. Maybe we should reverse this trend before it’s too late to turn back.

Frances Terrell Lippman

Los Angeles