July 7, 1999

Library Computers

As computers continue to proliferate into our library systems, I notice the increasing decrease of human connectivity in these establishments. Remember before when you had to sign a card during checkout. As you did so, you would glance over previous signatures and mentally comment on them. You could say, "Hey, I know him," or "Wow, I was the last person to check this out," or "Amazing, no one has checked out this book since 1973." Without anything more than a signature and date, the book and card managed to connect you across the chasm of time with people of the past.

With computers, signatures are an item of the past. Scanners and bar codes block us from knowing the past of the book we want to read. There is nothing for us to do, so we only get the book. We say nothing as another thin nerve connecting us is severed. Gee, thanks computers.