Being one of these researchers who lives and dies by his laptop computer, I
am often frustrated that there is no Internet access for an individual
researcher's machine in most reading rooms. Most places do have at least
one computer for public use that has Internet access, but there is no real
way to easily transfer any information one finds to one's own machine. I am
thinking especially of ESTC records and other databases that hold
information about books and of bibliographies, many of which are now
on-line. It is somewhat frustrating not to be able to compare on the fly
what those sources have to offer to the book in hand on my own machine.
For example, since I work primarily with pre-1850 materials, I always check
Sabin. In most libraries, that work has to be called from the stacks or,
even worse, is considered so antiquated and bulky that it has been sent to
remote storage. And because many libraries don't have the relatively rare
printed index to the work, I am often not even sure that I have discovered
if the book that interests me is even in there. But because two commercial
services have Sabin on-line, it would be great to be able to check them
while I was there in the reading room, thereby sparing me perhaps a nasty
bibliographical surprise when I finally can check Sabin and the library is
now 1500 miles away.
Since practically every motel or hotel I stay in has wireless Internet
access these days, I was wondering how many rare book reading rooms out
there have wireless access or plan to offer it at some point in the future.
The question is asked merely in the spirit of trying to judge where such
things are heading in the research library world out there.
Everett Wilkie
2006 Carey Road
Kinston, NC 28501
ewilkie@ix.netcom.com
252-522-0261
Cell: 860-712-4421
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