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
2016-09-21
35
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). Imhoffs 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 e-nough 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."
Computers are more prominently displayed than books in San Francisco Public Library.
选项
答案
B
解析
本题与该图书馆中电脑和书籍的摆放位置有关,据此可定位到B段。该段第2句提到,在旧金山公共图书馆,电脑被放在中间显眼的位置,而书籍放在外围不起眼的位置,本题与该信息相符,故选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/sNY7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Becauseofsatellitelinkswhichnowenablebroadcastnewsorganizationstooriginateliveprogrammingfromanypartoftheglob
Becauseofsatellitelinkswhichnowenablebroadcastnewsorganizationstooriginateliveprogrammingfromanypartoftheglob
A、Becausefoxeskillfarmanimals.B、Becausefoxeslookjustlikefarmdogs.C、Becausefoxesareverycunning.D、Becausefoxesm
Writeashortessaybasedonthepicturebelow.YoushouldstartyouressaywithabriefaccountofEconomizeWaterResource.An
InChina,aswithanyculture,therearerulesandcustomsonwhatisappropriateandwhatisnotwhendininginarestaurantor
A、Changeherdiet.B、Takeadifferentkindofmedicine.C、Askanotherdoctorabouttheproblem.D、Dospecialkneeexercise.C女士说
Pricesdeterminehowresourcesaretobeused.Theyarealsothemeansbywhichproductsandservicesthatareinlimited【B1】___
A、Theywanttobroadentheirbusiness.B、Theyareplacesformostpeopletodate.C、Theytrytodosomethingforsinglepeople.
HowtoUseaLibraryA)You’redrivingyourcarhomefromworkorschool.Andsomethinggoeswrong.Theenginestallsoutatligh
TheBritishgovernmentrecentlyannouncedaproposaltointroducehealthcareaccessfeesformigrantsandlong-termvisitorsth
随机试题
脊髓的被膜由外向内依次为
WhenNeilArmstrongandBuzzAldrinreturnedfromthemoon,theircargoincludednearlyfiftypoundsofrockandsoil,whichwer
()是实行限额设计的一个有效途径和主要方法。
某企业2017年现金预算(简表)如下表所示。假定企业发生现金余缺均由归还或取得流动资金借款解决,且流动资金借款利息可以忽略不计。除表中所列项目外,企业没有有价证券,也没有发生其他现金收支业务。预计2017年年末流动负债为4000万元,需要保证的年末现金占
某投机者准备用20000元进行投机活动。该投机者认为公司A的股价可能在未来三个月内增加。该公司的当前股价是10元,而期限为两个月、行使价为12元的看涨期权,目前售价为1元。要求:假设该投机者将全部资金都购买了股票期权,三个月后公司A的股价上涨到16元
8位围棋选手参加比赛,要通过抽签平均分成2个小组,已知头号种子选手和三号种子选手分在一个小组,则二号种子选手也在该组的概率为()。
基普
已知在二叉树中,T为根结点,*p和*q为二叉树中两个结点,试编写求距离它们最近的共同祖先的算法。
宏代码也是用程序设计语言编写,与其最接近的高级语言是________。
Tomistall,______heisn’tstrong.
最新回复
(
0
)