N.Y. libraries put training in circulation
- By Dibya Sarkar
- Dec 03, 2000
New York Public Library home page
The New York Public Library will use a private grant to create public technology
training centers at several branches.
The library system is also launching a public/private effort, "Click
On @ the library," in which volunteers from 14 companies will provide hands-on
computer training and other tutorials at 14 branches throughout the Bronx,
Manhattan and Staten Island.
The $2.3 million grant for the training centers, from the Jeffry M.
and Barbara Picower Foundation, is the largest private grant for technology
training the library has ever received.
"People are so thirsty for training on the Internet," library spokeswoman
Caroline Oyama said. "The grant is going to be used to train the public
in all aspects of computer use — from how to use a mouse, to finding a
job on the Internet, to learning how to build a Web site."
Of New York's 85 branch libraries, 10 will be outfitted with computer
classrooms at which the library plans 114 hours a week in technology classes.
This is a good way for people to get a leg up on technology, Oyama said.
The New York Public Library system has about 1,200 computers, most
with Internet access, for public use. Last year, nearly 2,200 Internet classes
were offered to about 9,000 people.
The "Click On @ the library" workshops will be different at each neighborhood
branch, Oyama said. Classes will include basic computer skills, Web research,
starting an Internet business and using adaptive technology for the blind.