Without a Net: Librarians Bridging the Digital Divide

This book is full of great practical advise for teaching and troubleshooting “technology” [read: computer and internet] to library patrons. West gives good pointers on how to approach people with no computer experience. Where I work, we have staff that specifically teaches computer classes, but considering most desk time in libraries consists of computer troubleshooting, this book is a valuable tool.

West’s tone is refreshing - far more readable than most howto manuals. This book is also dual use. If you are someone with no computer experience, and have tech anxiety, this book would be a great primer (though if you fall in that category I doubt you would be skimming a review found on an online social network).

On a personal note: show more years ago I was having computer trouble and in semi-desperation I installed Ubuntu Linux on my PC after seeing a print article about an online video (how quaint) that went viral showing a librarian installing Ubuntu on computers at a cash strapped library. My switch to Linux, a gateway to the world of open source, was a positive transformational experience. I am 98% sure the librarian in question was Jessamyn West. Thanks, Jessamyn. show less

Man, it's been years since I did any sort of technical support, and reading a clear, accessible, well-written guide to helping technical newbies get going was a blast from the past, except my past didn't contain anything nearly so useful. I am not a librarian, so while those parts were interesting from a curious end-user perspective, they did go over my head a bit, but the actual technical parts were totally interesting and well-laid-out. This would be an excellent book for anyone who currently works in tech support serving home users - there are lots of good suggestions not just for specific tools and resources, but for approaches to getting them through the sticky bits of computer use.