首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Are we ready for the library of the future? A) Librarians today will tell you their job is not so much to take care of books
Are we ready for the library of the future? A) Librarians today will tell you their job is not so much to take care of books
admin
2016-04-30
28
问题
Are we ready for the library of the future?
A) Librarians today will tell you their job is not so much to take care of books but to give people access to information in all forms. Since librarians, like so many people, believe that the entire universe of commerce, communication and information is moving to digital form, they are on a reform to give people access to the Internet—to prevent them from becoming second-class citizens in an all-digital world. Something funny happened on the road to the digital library of the future, though.
Far from becoming keepers of the keys to the Grand Database of Universal Knowledge, today’s librarians are increasingly finding themselves in an unexpected, overloaded role: They have become the general public’s last-resort providers of tech support.
B) It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Today’s libraries offer a variety of media and social-cultural events—they are "blended libraries," to use a term created by Kathleen Imhoff, assistant director of the Broward County Library of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At the newly remodeled San Francisco Public Library, the computers are prominently displayed in the center of the library building while the books are all but hidden on the periphery (外围). Imhoff s own library has word processing and other types of software for visitors to use, Internet access, audio CDs, videotapes, concerts, lectures, books and periodicals in three forms (print, microfiche and digital). Many libraries have found that this kind of "blending" is hugely popular in their communities, and librarians explain the changes in their institutions’ roles by pointing to the public demand for these new services. But other trends are at work, too.
C) For some time, libraries have been automating their back-end, behind-the-desk functions for reasons of cost and convenience, just like any other business. Now, the computers have moved out from behind librarians’ desks and onto the floor where the visitors are. This means that, suddenly, library-goers will have to know how to use those computers. This sounds reasonable enough until you take a close look Unfortunately, the same technology that cuts costs and relieves librarians of work behind the scenes increases it for the public—and for the librarians at the front desk who have to help the public figure out how to use the technology. The unhappy result: People are simply not finding the information they seek
D) If you are just coming to the library to read a book for pleasure and you know what a card catalog is and you have some basic computer skills, then you are going to be OK, But if you are trying to find some specific information—say, whether software in the classroom helps kids learn better or the causes of lung cancer or the basic procedure for doing a cost-benefit analysis of computer systems (three topics I have actually tried to look up in the San Francisco library)—then you’re in trouble.
E) To begin with, library visitors must now be able to type, to use a mouse and a menu and to understand the various types of computer interfaces (terminal text, windows and browsers). It’s also nice if you know 17 different ways to quit a program, which electronic databases you should look in for what kinds of information, the grammar necessary to define your search and the Library of Congress’ controlled vocabulary. After I had been to the new San Francisco library three times, I started keeping a folder of instructions on how to do a keyword search, since I would forget between visits.
F) Probably 50% of the population has never used a computer, fewer know how to type and almost nobody knows anything about electronic databases or searching grammar. As a result, the public library is now engaged in a massive attempt to teach computer literacy to the entire country. Some librarians compare it to the adult literacy programs the library also sponsors, but this is on a far larger scale—and less closely tied to the library’s traditional mission. The response at each library system has been different. Some libraries actually give courses in word processing, accounting program and so on. But even at libraries where the staff has resisted becoming computer trainers, they are still forced to devote significant resources to the problem.
G) Such has been the case in San Francisco, where people with disabilities can sign up to use the voice-recognition program Dragon Dictate—but only if they can prove they already know how to use the software. The librarians have neither the time nor the peculiar skill (nor the time to develop the skill) to teach it to them. At the reference desks, librarians try not to spend a lot of time teaching people the basics of how to use the computer, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. "We try to get them started," says business librarian John Kenney. "We let them do as much as they can on their own and they come get us. It’s certainly a big problem."
H) The San Francisco library offers classes on its own electronic catalog, commercial periodical indexes and the Internet twice a week as well as occasional lectures about the Internet. Although it seems odd to me that people now need to take a two-hour class before they can use the library, the classes are always full. But despite the excellent teachers, two hours is simply not enough to meet the needs of the students, many of whom have never used a computer before in their lives and many of whom simply can’t type. When I took the class one Tuesday, the man sitting next to me said he has used the library’s computer catalog many times, but he keeps making typing mistakes without knowing it. This unexpectedly throws him into the wrong screens and he doesn’t know how to get back. On the floor, he repeatedly has to ask a librarian for help.
I) "Providing technology does not mean people can use the technology," says Marc Webb, a San Francisco librarian and one of the teachers. "Half the voters are still trying to read English." The library has also had to deal with the practical difficulties of making its catalog accessible via the Internet, a new service many libraries are starting to offer. "It’s absolutely overwhelming," Webb says. "Everyone is getting to us with multiple transports, they’re all using different software, they have Winsock or Telnet set up differently, and suddenly the library is forced to become a hardware and software help desk. When you’re trying to tell someone over the telephone how to set up Winsock through AOL when this is the first time they’ve ever used a computer, it’s very difficult."
In today’s libraries, the librarians are playing an unexpected role as a provider of tech support for the public.
选项
答案
A
解析
根据题目的an unexpected role及provider of tech support可定位至首句的最后一句。该句说到现在的图书馆管理员出乎意料地成了“提供技术支持的人”,题目所述与此相符,故A为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/D4e7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
BritishpsychologistshavefoundevidenceofalinkbetweenexcessiveInternetuseanddepression,aresearchhasshown.Lee
About2percentofAmericanstudentsarenowtaughtathome.Educatorsareconfusedabouthowthisgrowingpracticeshouldbere
Therearetwotypesofpeopleintheworld.Althoughtheyhaveequaldegreesofhealthandwealthandtheothercomfortsoflife
WhenMomandDadGrowOldA)Theprospectoftalkingtoincreasinglyfragileparentsabouttheirfuturecanbe"oneofthemostd
AnimalsontheMoveA)Itlookedlikeascenefrom"Jaws"butwithoutthedramaticmusic.Ahugesharkwaslowlyswimmingthrough
MountTaishanislocatedinthecenterofShandongProvince,lyingacrossthecitiesofTai’an,JinanandZibo.Itsmainpeak,J
A、Almosttwomonths.B、Morethanonemonth.C、Nearlytwoweeks.D、Overthreeweeks.C细节题。短文开头提到,每年的2月21日到3月4日期间,威尼斯的街上都会举办狂欢节(ca
Inthecenterofabigcitythereareusuallydozensoflargeofficebuildingsthathousebigbanks,corporationheadquarters,a
A、ThemansawMarkonthestreettwomonthsago.B、ThewomanhadforgottenMark’sphonenumber.C、Thewomanmadeaphonecallto
随机试题
[*]
They______holdthemeetingtoday.
患者,女性,40岁,上前牙牙冠变色10年,要求诊治。年轻时左上前牙有洞曾在医院治过。检查见黄白色充填物大面积且变黄色,叩痛(-);牙冠棕褐变色,切端重度磨损,叩痛(±),不松动。该患者的治疗设计不包括
材料: 案例一:2005年9月15日,B市的家庭主妇张某在家中利用计算机ADSL拨号上网,以E话通的方式,使用视频与多人共同进行“裸聊”被公安机关查获。对于本案,B市S区检察院以聚众淫乱罪向S区法院提起公诉,后又撤回起诉。 案例二:从2006年11
某公司2006年6月进口一批设备,2007年4月对该批货物进口税额提出异议,经海关审核发现,由于计算错误,多征税款43750元人民币。根据规定,海关应退还多征的税款。()
某企业为单步骤简单生产企业,设有一个基本生产车间,连续大量生产甲、乙两种产品,采用品种法计算产品成本。另设有一个供电车间,为全厂提供供电服务,供电车间的费用全部通过“辅助生产成本"归集核算。2017年12月份有关成本费用资料如下:(1)12月份发出材料
甲、乙两个国有企业出资设立丙有限责任公司。下列关于丙有限责任公司组织机构的表述中,不符合公司法律制度规定的是()。
平平忘不掉叔叔煮的鸡汤的味道。这种记忆属于()。
学理解释是法律解释的一种,它属于()。
综合布线系统常用的传输介质包括()和()。
最新回复
(
0
)