When I went to Computers in Libraries in March, I noticed many people at the conference with small laptops, which I found out are often called "notebooks" or "netbooks." I thought, "This could be a killer app for me. If I had a small, lightweight computer, I might really use it! and take it with me out of town!" I went to a session about mobile reference at the Frederick County Public Libraries (they use Samsungs) and got more excited. Then I went to Wiscon (the feminist science fiction convention) in May, and attended their session on netbooks with my computer spouse. Oooh, we wanted them!
Computer spouse did some research, and we decided to get one to try out - if we liked it, we'd get more of the same. He couldn't find what we wanted in a bricks-and-mortar store, so he ordered one online. After several days of trying it out, we were hooked. So the new ones were ordered (a total of one each for me, computer spouse, and daughter.) But so far the first one is the only one he's had time to configure, so I almost have a new computer. Real soon.
At my library, a few of us are thinking about how to let students know what we have in the realm of online reference tools, particularly the specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias. Do students even use that terminology anymore - should we be calling them "background sources?" Reference work in the modern world is anything but dull.
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