Archive: Around Town

In these days of fast-changing technology, not everyone has gotten onto the computer bandwagon.  But increasingly people are looking to computers to stay in touch with each other and more and more it is becoming more a part of the mainstream of modern living.  The Lansing Community Library is offering three classes this weekend to help people who may be feeling left behind.

Saturday's class will teach basic email, and the other two will cover email and computer maintenance.  "The classes are for people who have used them a little bit with a lot of assistance from someone," says part time staff member Paula Weaver.  "Or it could be someone who hasn't used them at all.  We will go through using the mouse -- the the left click, right click, how to drag and drop files...  we're going to try to keep it basic."

Even before officially becoming a public library in December, the facility has made computers and free Internet access available to Lansing residents.  The library has two computers for public use, and is a wireless hotspot for people who have laptop computers but don't have high speed Internet access.  These classes take that to the next level, helping people who would like to use computers learn how.


Friends of the Library President Donna Scott says that the Polaris system will link the Lansing collection by computer to collections in all Fingerlakes Library System libraries, which will bring further benefits to patrons.  "We got the computer lab to train our volunteers and staff onto the Polaris system," she says.  "Pretty soon people will be able to access our collection and the entire Fingerlakes Library System catalog from their computers at home or here."

The computer lab includes ten laptop computers that the Fingerlakes Library System makes available to its members.  "In our transition to the Fingerlakes Library System we learned that they had a computer lab with ten laptops that you can borrow free of charge," Weaver says.  "We had been thinking about offering computer classes, but when we found out that was available we jumped on the chance, because it's a great way to help our community."

The classes will be taught by Barbara Hulbert, Librarian Susie Gutenberger, and Weaver.  Hulbert teaches computer courses to older adults at Lifelong in Ithaca.  Weaver was a software engineer.  They are limiting attendance to ten so that each student can have a computer to use.  "We don't want anybody looking over other peoples' shoulders," Weaver says.  "We want to make sure it is hands on."

Scott says that if the classes are successful more computer classes will be offered in the future.  "If all these classes fill up we will definitely borrow the computer lab again and repeat the classes later on," she says.  "That's a real benefit of being part of the Fingerlakes Library System now.  You can get things like this to help this library help the community."

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