Paperback , pages. Published May 6th by Libraries Unlimited first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Without a Net , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Jun 16, Todd rated it really liked it Shelves: If you are a recent graduate of a M. Library and Information Science MLIS program, I think that you will find the content of this text to be a basic summary of core, entry-level courses.
I think the book is mainly suited for those librarians and Circulation clerks in smaller libraries with less tech experience and without a MLIS degree although it is heavy with jargon. With that said, I do believe that it is useful for those who are unfamiliar with the "Digital Divide," which is the widening If you are a recent graduate of a M. With that said, I do believe that it is useful for those who are unfamiliar with the "Digital Divide," which is the widening gap between those who have regular access to and knowledge of computers and those who do not.
I also feel that it can be used by MLIS students and grads as a reference for lesson plan creation and to help librarians avoid some basic mistakes when instructing. Jun 30, Jocelyn marked it as to-read Shelves: Jessamyn West has a personal blog at jessamyn. Jun 19, Sara rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really appreciate the focus on the philosophical underpinnings of the digital divide, it made for a comprehensive look at the role of tech in libraries.
Some of the finer details were of course a little dated at this book is about eight years old or so, and tech moves quickly, so it could certainly use a second edition with some updated tech advice.
Other than that, this is an excellent resource! Oct 11, Carrie rated it liked it. A blurb on the back cover of this book piqued my interest. Perhaps more surprising, as of late , 22 percent of adults still did not use the Internet at all. New government initiatives and services mean that Internet access and understanding is no longer an optional skill.
How can libraries help close the gap?
This book is more of a how-to guide for librarians who are now in a position to teach computer skills to new and novice users. Let me start off by saying that this book was published in Although it contains a lot of well-researched and organized information, reading it in meant that a lot of that information is out of date. I feel like a lot of the information in this book is common knowledge for anyone who has graduated from college or works in a library.
Even for a book published in , these things seem a bit elementary and unnecessary. Although the middle of this book is pretty useless, the first and last few chapters make this book useful even today. I would have liked to see the author talk about this more in her book. Toward the end of the book, there is information on office software and library databases that is outdated, but still could be useful to librarians and their patrons. The last chapter ties everything in the book together by explaining to readers why providing free internet access in libraries is important.
Overall, I think this book is still useful enough to have on the shelf. Jessamyn West obviously put a lot of effort into this book, and there is still a lot of relevant information in it. But like with most other books written about technology, the nuts and bolts of the book are very outdated. Jun 16, Bryan rated it really liked it. 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.
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: My switch to Linux, a gateway to the world of open source, was a positive transformational experience.
Without a Net: Librarians Bridging the Digital Divide
Aug 23, Araminta Matthews rated it liked it Shelves: This book was a practical but highly-dated guide for teaching basic computer, web, and information literacy. At the same time, there was very little pragmatic execution offered in this book and the narrative style was distractingly anecdotal. I was really hoping for evidence-based practices for teaching digital literacy.
I think also I was more interested in seeing teaching that digital literacy to extremely bright and capable adults like professors who are brilliant in their content areas but This book was a practical but highly-dated guide for teaching basic computer, web, and information literacy. I think also I was more interested in seeing teaching that digital literacy to extremely bright and capable adults like professors who are brilliant in their content areas but perhaps have missed the broader aspects of web-utility with particular regard to how to use it for professional development, instruction, communities or practice, and so on.
Without a net : librarians bridging the digital divide (Book, ) [theranchhands.com]
A great resource for librarians and adult educators, but not so great for the instructional designer looking for clear pathways to scaffolding technical-literacy with instructors who are just dabbling with complex digital notions. Jun 21, Jeremy Preacher rated it really liked it Shelves: 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 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.
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. Feb 07, Laura rated it liked it. English View all editions and formats Summary: A guide to the complex nature of technology access and adoption and the role libraries can play in bridging the digital divide.
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Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item Jessamyn West Find more information about: An easy-to-read and understand guide to the complexities surrounding technology access and adoption that focuses on the ways libraries can help close the digital divide. Publisher Synopsis "Librarians who feel lost in the technical revolution will find this book an essential guide to help familiarize themselves with basic computer usage and terms. User-contributed reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers.
Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. View most popular tags as: Similar Items Related Subjects: Libraries -- Information technology -- United States. Internet access for library users -- United States. Public access computers in libraries -- United States. Library employees -- Effect of technological innovations on -- United States.
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